The View from the Top
by Escca
Summary: ZENxOC. Set years after the events in the True/Secret Ending, where everyone in the RFA have found their happy endings-except for Zen. As he pursues his dreams, he is offered a role in a new production that promises him fame and fortune. But as time goes on, he begins to find himself falling in a dangerous spiral of love with the mysterious stand-in director of this new project.
1. Chapter One - Falling

**Author's Notes:** Welcome to a Mystic Messenger story that I've written. As it'll say in the prologue, this story takes place about 2 years after the True Ending and Secret Endings. The main love interest is Zen and will be closely following most of the events in his route! The main character is a bit of a combination of all of the available MCs in the game (minus unicorn MC because she's far too fab). Despite the fact that I've given her a name and already pre-designed her, she's _supposed_ to be like your MC or something along those lines? It's hard to explain;; But hopefully you all are okay with an OC being the main character in this story. Again, this story focuses on only Zen, so I've pretty much shipped the others with OCs;;;; You'll see;;;;;;;;

Anyhow, with that please enjoy this story and feel free to leave any reviews that you may have for me!

* * *

Prologue – Opportunity

* * *

After the fiasco with mysterious organization Mint Eye, things turned out peaceful again. Seven and Yang Jae Eun had come back and ended up marrying a year later, Saeran staying with them. Eventually, even Saeran found love and moved out (though the twins still lived extremely close by each other). Yoosung ended up finding a girl at his school's LOLOL Club. Her name was Goo Sooyi and from the endless gushing that the college student did in the chat, she was feisty and cute. A few months after Seven's marriage, Jumin and Jaehee found love as well. Jumin found his heart in Nae Sena—a surprisingly down-to-earth daughter of the rich CEO of Cheritz Corp. The two ended up marrying a few months after meeting and he's never seen without her. And Kang Jaehee? Four months later, she found love and support over a cup of coffee. After meeting Choi Taeyeon, Jaehee found the courage to leave C&R International and open her own coffee shop with her girlfriend.

But for Hyun Ryu—Zen—he could only smile and pat his friends on the back (except Jumin) and support them. As all of the members of the RFA found their love, Zen slowly retreated into his work, focusing himself into his acting. Instead of love, he reached for stardom, trying to grab at the chance—any chance—to skyrocket himself into his job. However, chances were rare and they seemed to avoid the silver-haired.

He didn't mind though. He loved his job. As long as he was standing on stage, his happiness was unparalleled. As long as he could perform, it didn't matter what role he got. It didn't matter that he was the only one in the RFA who was single. It didn't matter that he was alone. After struggling to get to where he was now, Zen was just happy performing.

"Effort will never betray you" was a motto that he lived by, and he was sure that if he worked hard and fought through the struggles, nothing could stop him.

That was why, on a bright October morning, he found himself walking to the Seoul University of the Arts, a letter griped tightly in his hands and a grin plastered on his handsome face.

"Dear Zen," the letter started.

"We are pleased to inform you that we are interested in your performances and wish to ask for your talent in an upcoming production. The production, which is being sponsored by the generous Choi Jaehan of Pyramid Entertainment, has recommended you as a potential pick for the main character. The play has been written by Baek Chaewon—a professional playwright who has written several plays that I'm sure you've heard of. Some of these titles are "Underground", "Beyond the Border", and his recent and most famous title "Impressionism". He will be the producer of the play and is excited to work with someone as talented as you, Zen.

"If you have time, we do hope that you can meet the Mr. Chaewon before the audition. He is a professor at the prestigious Seoul University of the Arts (SUA) and is looking forward to meeting you. We have attached his schedule and office hours and have also included the best time to see him. His number is also attached in case you wish to contact him beforehand.

"We do hope that you consider this role and we look forward to meeting you or at least hearing your answer as soon as possible."

* * *

Chapter One – Falling

* * *

"I think I got a chance at a really big opportunity," Zen typed into the RFA chat. He smiled as he hit the send button. The chat buzzed and he smiled that the first one to congratulate him was his long-time fan and friend, Jaehee.

"That is absolutely wonderful to hear Zen. I hope that this role gets you big in the entertainment industry," she wrote.

Right after Jaehee's message, her girlfriend popped in as well, gushing," Aigoo, it's finally time for Zen to make it big! I'm really, really excited! Jaehee and I will definitely be there to watch it as many times as we can!"

Zen smiled widely, the compliments from the couple-fangirls brightening up his morning. "Of course," he wrote. "A handsome man like me can't be hidden away in the shadows for too long!" He clicked the keyboard and sent his favorite winky emoticon.

The actor stretched his arms up and looked around him. The day, it seemed, was rejoicing with him. It was a fairly chilly day but the sun beamed over Seoul, warming up the busy people who were walking out and about the streets. He was currently in the busy village area that operated near the SUA, students all around him. In this area, there were restaurants, cafes, book and school supply stores and more. The area itself was bright and alive, the sounds of young college students peppering the area.

Zen adjusted his dark cap and his black blazer, checking himself in the reflection of a store's window. Although he wasn't a huge star yet, he was still quite famous and he wanted to hide himself a little and enjoy the fresh October morning. He walked confidently down the street, a skip in his stride. Zen felt as if he was on top of the world. As he passed through the shopping area, Zen slowly walked onto a fairly crowded bridge that connected the previous shopping area to the very small residential area that stood right in front of the University.

There were a fair amount of people walking along the bridge with him, some chatting happily with their friends and others rushing towards the campus while carrying huge portfolios and bags. There were also a few who leaned against the bridge's railings, peering down into the deep river that ran underneath it. Because of the rain the day before, the river was full and sloshing along quite quickly.

A particular few people caught Zen's interest as he slowly reached the middle of the bridge. There were several girls that he saw looking at him and whispering. One of them was fairly cute and petite—a match to his preferences in a woman. Besides the girls that seemed to ogle at him as he passed, was a slightly dark-skinned girl that walked a little bit farther ahead of him. She seemed to walking leisurely, her short, dark curly hair fluttering in the wind. Zen wondered if her hair was natural and he found himself staring at a particular curl that stuck out sorely from the rest of this curly head. Way ahead of the girl, coming towards himself and the curly woman, was a group of rowdy guys tossing a basketball back and forth to each other. They laughed loudly, joking and shoving each other. Finally, near exact center of the bridge, there was a couple holding a small girl up to peer over the rail. She gushed excitedly about the water, exclaiming to her parents to raise her higher.

Zen watched this family closely, slightly envious of the small girl. He thought back on his own family and shuddered. With a sigh, he shook his past out of his mind and continued on, slowly approaching the family's area.

"Daddy, daddy! Higher! I wanna go higher!"

The kindly-looking father smiled at his daughter. The mother on the other hand urged her husband to get his phone to take a picture of their precious daughter. With a nod, he lifted his daughter up onto the rail, letting her sit up on it while the mother tightly held her daughter, waiting for their picture to be taken.

As the husband pulled his phone out, a loud yell resonated through the air and Zen watched as a quick, orange blur sipped passed the husband's head. The man spun around in time to dodge it, but his wife and daughter were not so fortunate. The object collided squarely with the wife's arm and she let out a surprised yelp. As she recoiled back however, the child in her arms fell backwards from the basketball bounding off her mother's arms and into the child's face.

And in a single move, the child plummeted into the river.

Zen stood shocked for a second but once he heard the woman's shriek he stuttered forward, only to be stopped quickly.

"Hold this!"

He felt something get shoved into his chest and he looked down to see a phone with headsets plugged into them. He blinked and looked up and saw a curly blur rush off in front of him. In an instant, she threw off her backpack and jacket onto the floor. She jumped up onto the railing and, without any hesitation, dived straight into the river.

As soon as he saw the girl jump, Zen rushed forward and looked over the rail. For a second, she didn't surface and he could see the small child fighting against the current and disappearing under the bridge.

Quickly, Zen grabbed the abandoned backpack and jacket and rushed off the bridge. He ran down the side of the river bank and saw in the distant water a figure swimming towards the distressed child. The child was crying out and splashing, but the curly haired woman easily scooped up the child into her left arm, holding the child tightly to her chest. With her free hand, she began to push against the current.

Zen stumbled down to the water and waved wildly for the woman's attention, shouting at her to come to this end of the bank. She seemed to have heard him, for she began to push swim forward towards the actor. Behind him, a crowd slowly catching up to him.

As soon as she got to land, the curly-haired woman lifted the child towards Zen. He quickly placed down the stuff he had in his arms and began to comfort the crying girl. He began to brush her messy black hair out of her wet face, cooing soothingly to the child.

Behind him, the parents stumbled towards Zen and the child. The mother jumped down to her daughter, cupping her flushed face.

"Are you alright? Did you get hurt? Are you okay," she sputtered. The father quickly peeled off his own jacket and wrapped his daughter around with it, kissing her head. He gently placed a hand on his wife's shoulder and then looked at Zen who had forgotten that he was still hold the child's hands.

"How can we ever thank you," the father began. "You saved our daughter, young man."

Zen gawked at them and then looked at the woman who had actually dove into the water to save the child. She had already pulled herself up and was brushing the access water off her body. Zen stammered," I—that wasn't me. It was her over there…"

The wife turned to Zen as he spoke and then clasped his hands as well, gushing praises and thanks.

"N-no, I didn't do anything…"

"Nonsense, my daughter is fine thanks to you!"

From behind him, there came a loud shriek. Zen whipped his head around and saw the group of girls pointing at him, their faces blushed bright pink.

"It's him! It's really Zen, the actor from the "Promiscuous Jalapeno Topping" musical!"

Suddenly, Zen became aware of himself and realized that while he ran down to catch up to the swimming pair, his hat had flown off somewhere. Immediately after the girls pointed him out, the crowd surrounded the family and Zen, people shoving themselves forward to get a picture of the actor.

Zen quickly stood up, releasing the child's hands. He tried to shoot down the praises of him saving the girl, all the while looking for that actual woman who took the leap in. To the side, he finally spotted her damp figure. She stood with her back towards the group and picked up her belongings from where Zen had dropped them.

"There! She's the one who saved-" As Zen tried to point the crowd out to the real savior, the father swung Zen around and shook him by the shoulders, commending the silver-haired for his help.

"No, please listen—over there, that woman…"

As Zen turned around he saw the figure already walking up the bank and to the sidewalk. He couldn't see her face, nor could he read her emotions through her body language.

Suddenly, Zen felt himself flare up. He didn't like the idea of stealing other people's credit. He especially didn't like the idea that people were surrounding him because of who he was and how he looked like and that it must've been him who saved the girl. He really, really didn't like being in this position at all and seeing the receding figure of the girl who had risked herself only to be brushed off made him really sour.

At once, Zen snapped at the people around him," If you really saw what happened, you would know that I didn't save her but another person did. She was the one who immediately jumped into the water and she's the one who deserves to be credited. Please stop saying that it was me. If you can excuse me, I'm going to take my leave."

The crowd quickly fell silent and Zen pushed past them, running in the direction that he had last seen the woman heading towards. Upon reaching the road, he quickly followed the wet trail down the street and into the back alleys of the neighborhood.

" _I can't believe those people brushed her off like they did…"_ Zen thought to himself. _"I can't believe that she didn't even say anything either!"_

As he turned a corner, he finally saw the woman walking alone down the street. She clutched her backpack in her hand and hung her jacket onto the same arm. With her free hand, she was gently scrunching her bobbed hair, loosening her curls from the water.

Zen strode forward and reached her instantly, all while reaching up and placing a warm hand onto her shoulder. She jumped and spun around and looked Zen in the face as he also jumped back from her quick turn. Zen drank in the sight of her almost instantly.

Her bright eyes were small and spaced evenly apart, sitting below well-groomed eyebrows that seemed to follow the natural curve of her eyes. Her small button nose peaked above a pair of frowning lips, which were pale probably due to the cold air and her damp body. Her cupid's bow was curiously quite high while her lips themselves were round. Her curled brown hair was already beginning to fluff, the waves and coils gently framing her round, almost heart-shaped face. Zen counted two beauty marks on her, one right below the corner of her right eye and the other directly below the first but near her jaw. Her hair hovered right above a small set of shoulders which was covered by a tan, stripped shirt. Her black pants and boots clung tightly to her body, revealing a slightly larger frame. While girls in Korea were petite and probably weighed less than 120lbs, this woman stood powerfully and was at least 150lbs. Her curves were easy to spot under her wet clothes. He spotted goosebumps already prickling down her tanned skin.

She held a steady gaze, her eyes piercing through his red ones. As she furrowed her brow in confusion, Zen noted the gold and brown flecks that seemed to shimmer within her gray eyes. The look she gave him held an air of authority and strength. She kept her mouth closed in a thin, straight line only letting her eyes speak to Zen.

At first, Zen seemed at a lost; he didn't know what to say her. So instead of saying anything, he continued to take in her sight. They stood awkwardly in the middle of the street, both not saying a word to each other. After an unusually long minute, Zen broke the silence.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

She blinked and Zen could see her processing his question in her mind. She frowned deeper and then suddenly it seemed as if a lightbulb had lit up in her mind.

"If you're talking about saving the drowning kid, I thought you were handling it quite well."

Zen was a little surprised at the sound of her voice—it was a husky, a fruity-like sort of sound. It wasn't high pitched, nor was it grating on the ears. In fact, Zen felt his heart beat pick up just by the sound of it.

"I—uh, I was just there," Zen confessed. "You were the one who jumped in after her and yet you didn't get any credit for it."

She stared at him with an unknown emotion plastered over her face. Slowly, her frown perked up and she began to laugh. Her laugh first started from her shoulders, bobbing up and down, and then it cascaded all over her body. With her free arm, she draped it over her stomach, rocking back on her heels from the amusement. Her giggles, Zen noted, seemed to flutter in the air. It was a pure sound and one that Zen could compare to chiming bells—and he really liked that sound. As her laughter died down, she straightened up and gave a small smile to him.

"As long as I know that she was fine, I don't need any 'credit' for saving the girl. Besides…" She tapped her chin with her free hand, as if in thought. "I'm not much of a fan of being in the limelight. Seeing as you're that famous Zen, I thought you could better handle the situation than I could ever have."

Zen found himself blushing slightly from her compliment.

"And anyway," she continued. "I was cold and wanted to hurry and get changed."

"O-oh! I must be bothering you then…"

She cocked her head to the side and smiled a little wider," No, no. It was nice of you to check how I was feeling. Thank you for that."

Zen scratched the back of his neck out of embarrassment. He gave a handsome smile and quickly removed his black blazer, draping it over her shoulders.

"I don't know how much warmth that'll bring you, but take that and hurry home to change. I wouldn't want a beautiful lady getting sick because I stopped her."

She gently pulled at the blazer, looking down at it quietly. She glanced up back at him and chuckled," Well, thank you for that. But I don't think that it'd be right of me to take this."

Zen put a hand up to stop her from peeling off his clothing. He smiled back at her and the suggested," Well if you're uncomfortable with taking it, then you can always give it back…"

He pulled out a pen from his back pocket and took her hand in his. He quickly scribbled down his number and wrote his name right above.

"Here's my number so that you can contact me. We can meet-up and you can give it back to me then. Sound good?"

The curly-haired woman retracted her hand slowly, gazing at the number written on it. She gave a small sigh and looked back up at him and agreed," Alright then Zen. I guess it'll be a date for another day then."

She tugged his blazer closer to her body and adjusted herself. "Well, I guess I'll be leaving first then. Thank you for your jacket."

Zen nodded and gave a wave to her. She nodded back and turned, walking away with her things. After a few steps, she turned around and shouted to Zen," You should go back home. The one you're here to meet at SUA won't be there right now."

She spun around again and then disappeared behind a corner, leaving a confused Zen in her wake.

" _How did she know that I'm meeting someone?"_

Zen glanced at his phone's clock and his eyebrows shot up. He was already 30 minutes late to see Professor Baek! He spun back and started to run towards the university, when all of a sudden he stopped and thought about the mysterious girl and her instruction to meet the Professor another day. He chewed on his lip and wondered if what she had asserted would be correct. He didn't want to be late or not show up. He was scared that if he didn't meet the producer, he'd lose his chance at getting the role. But there was a feeling within him that made him question himself yet, believe in the girl's words.

Zen sighed and scratched his head. He didn't want to lose the role, so he pulled out his phone and decided to call the number on the letter that he had gotten. He put the speaker to his ear and listened to the tone of the phone attempting to connect. The actor glanced at the letter and right above the number he read "office phone".

In the end, the phone never got picked up and Zen leaned himself against a brick wall. If no one was picking up, that probably meant that the Professor was already gone. If anything, the Professor was busy, which meant that it was probably not a good idea to bother him. Zen pushed the hair in front of his eyes and pulled it backwards.

" _I guess… I'll just go home…"_

* * *

"Hello."

Zen glanced down at his phone and saw the unknown text message sitting on the front of his screen.

The man had already arrived at home and was casually lounging on his sofa, watching an old musical that he was a part of a few years back. When he wasn't working out and practicing, Zen found himself watching back his old performances, jotting mental notes of critiques of how his acting was. He would watch himself on the screen and think about the right or wrong gestures that he used. He would then apply this knowledge to his current project, attempting to further improve his acting.

But today, the video was just white noise. He wasn't paying attention to anything and was idly sipping on his beer. So when his phone gave a chime, it shook him out of his trance.

Zen unlocked his phone and clicked on the message. His long fingers tapped at the keyboard and he replied," Hello, who is this?"

He waited momentarily and then his phone buzzed in his hand.

"This is the 'beautiful lady' who jumped in the river earlier lol."

Zen blinked and suddenly caught himself smiling. He draped his free hand over his mouth and messaged her back.

"Ah, hello! How are you? Were you able to get home safely?"

"Yes, thanks for asking. I realized that it was rude of me not to give u my number."

"No, no you're fine." Zen sent a smiling emoji after. He continued," Are you feeling okay then?"

"Lol, as I said I'm fine. I just got all kinds of strange looks on the train while I was going home. Aigoo, they probably thought I was weird ;^("

Zen chuckled, replying," If you were worried about that, I would have escorted you back!"

"Lolol, no thanks. I'd have gotten even weirder looks"

"What does that mean :o"

"Lol, dw about that. Anyway…"

Zen waited as she typed her message out. He stood up and walked back to the kitchen, throwing away his empty can of beer. The phone buzzed in his hand and he quickly looked at the message.

"I've put ur blazer in the wash so that it's nice and clean, but I was wondering if u were free anytime this Thursday? I have some work to do tomorrow, but the next day I'll be going to the campus. Hopefully u took my advice and didn't waste ur time on campus. The person ur looking for will definitely b there on Thursday, so it'd b a perfect time for u to get ur blazer and to finish ur business."

Zen cocked an elegant brow up. Again, how did she know that he had any business at the university? How did she know that she was even meeting someone and how, he presumed, did she know who Zen was going to be meeting?

"Thursday is fine. Where should I meet you then?"

"Don't worry about that. Go to the campus at around 11AM and take care of ur business. I'll find u fairly ez."

"Oh, how do you know that?"

"An extremely handsome actor walking onto campus will probably illicit a crowd. I'll just follow the sheep and find u there lol"

Zen blinked and found himself a little flushed at her sudden compliment. He sent back a winky emoji following with a reply," Well you aren't wrong about that, princess~"

"Anyway, I'll treat u to some food for giving me ur jacket. Call it a date if u want to haha ;^)"

A… date?

Zen coughed and stared at the bold text that had come from this stranger. He had only met her for less than an hour, but here he was—feeling a little excited about Thursday. He put his hand over his heart and closed his eyes. He was probably like this because it had been so long since he had last gone on a date with anyone. Almost a decade actually.

These past years, he had busied himself with his work. He was practically _married_ to it. The others in the RFA often teased him and told him all this, but they weren't wrong honestly. He could flirt with women, but in the end he didn't have the heart to fully pursue a full-fledged relationship. In the end, all he could think about his work.

He closed his eyes and nodded to himself. This was just another one of those situations. In the end, she would disappear and all he was left with was acting.

"Ooh, aren't you cute! I'll look forward to it then~" Zen hit send and watched as the message popped into the chat. He paused and waited for a reply, only to be disappointed that she had seemed to stop messaging back. As he looked at the top of the chat and at her number, he realized that he still hadn't gotten her name yet.

Slightly hoping that she would reply, Zen nervously asked," By the way, I still haven't gotten your name?"

He waited again for five minutes and then closed his phone. As he walked into the living room, a jolt shivered through his body. Why was he disappointed? He took a long look around his living room and shook his head. He was just getting hopeful about this, when in reality it was going to end the same way as his past few flings did. He would find a girl and believe that there was something more, but then once his work got him busy, she would leave. And in all honesty, Zen wouldn't lift a finger. His dreams were important to him and, although he loved seemed to love these past women, they never could accept him if they didn't accept his work.

Sighing, he pocketed it and then decided that he should go out and take a run.

" _I need some air…"_

* * *

The Thursday he went back to SUA, it was cloudy and cold. The forecast warned Zen of rain in the later the day and he didn't want to get caught up in any storm. So he dressed warmly and tied his long hair back as usual. He grabbed a large umbrella and took a final look at himself in the mirror that hung in the hallway.

He gave a handsome smile and then pulled out his phone, snapping a quick selfie. He looked at it in his photo library and nodded in satisfaction. Truly, God really did bless him with looks of an angel. Still on his phone, Zen exited his home and locked up.

He opened up the RFA chat and dropped his selfie in, adding," Time to get this new role! Wish me luck all~"

Zen paused and then quickly added," Except you, mr. trust fund kid."

With a nod, he was about to pocket his phone but he found his thumb tap onto the message app. At the top of his messages, was his and the mysterious woman's chat. She still hadn't replied and her name was still just her number. He stopped walking towards the station and wondered if it would be weird to send this girl his selfie? A lightbulb went off in his head and opened the chat, sending her the photo and a text.

"Hello, hello. This is what I'm wearing today, in case you're looking for me! I'm on my way to the campus right now."

Satisfied, he was about to pocket his phone when it vibrated in his hand.

"Suuure, u probably just wanted to send off ur selfie to people huh"

He cracked a smile and continued on his way, replying to her. "Ahh, you caught me ; ( I really liked my outfit today so I wanted to show it off~"

"Mm, ur not wrong. That jacket looks very nice on u."

"Right? I'm glad you can agree with me, sweet lady."

"Lol, calling me that is making me cringe"

Zen blinked and then smirked to himself," Then please tell me your name~ That way I can call out to you later~"

"Aigoo, you asked me that a couple of days ago huh…"

"Mhmm, so what should I call you?"

Zen waited for her response, but nothing was sent back. He frowned a little and wondered if she wasn't interested at all in him. As he finally reached the station and was about to hop on the train, his phone gave a buzz.

"Call me Mona."

* * *

"So cocky, lolol!"

"Lolol"

"Yoosung, Seven. Will you two please stop? Zen, that is a very nice picture of yourself."

"Aigoo, Mama Jaehee is defending Zen again : (!"

"Seven, next time you drop by the café, I'm going to burn your favorite sweets when you ask for them."

"NOOO!"

"So, uh, Zen! Did you already talk to this producer guy," asked Yoosung. Zen chuckled absently at the chat.

"I just got to the campus. I'm about to head into the professors building. *scared emoji*"

"Take deep breaths Zen. It'll calm you down if you get nervous."

"Or lemme fax you some Honey Buddha Chips! That'll help more than breathing exercises!"

"Sevennnn, send them to meeee…"

Zen smiled at the RFA chat. He was glad to have met such good people, albeit most of them were weird. He really liked to talk to them all and they were pretty much the only ones who he spoke to outside the people he would work with. But even then, after a production was over, Zen found himself not finding interest in any of them anymore. Often, he would politely ignore their friend requests and decline hangouts with them.

"Well, anyway I'll be off. Time to get this role!"

He silenced his phone and then pocketed it in his white jacket. Zen walked into the pristine structure that was labeled as the 'Theatre' building. As he approached the front desk, the woman behind the computer screen was already blushing brightly. He gave a gentle smile and stopped at the desk, leaning on the countertop.

"I'm here to see Professor Baek. Where should I go to see him, if you don't mind me asking?"

The girl pushed up her round glasses and adjusted her shirt, stammering," B-baek you say? Let me call the office to see if they're in…"

She picked up the receiver of the phone and dialed a few numbers on it. As she was waiting for the other line to pick up, she gave a nervous glance to Zen. He gave a shining smile and watched her turn beet red.

There was a noise on the other line and Zen could hear someone talking on the other end. The secretary spoke up quickly," Yes, there's someone here to see you… Ah, you already knew? Okay… So send him over then? Yes, of course… Of course."

She put down the phone and then gave him a weak smile.

"If you will, please go to room 122B. It'll be to your left and all the way down the hall."

"Thank you," Zen started but the secretary cut him off quickly.

"Also, they're asking you to deliver this to them." The secretary opened up the desk cabinet and pulled out a thick manila folder. Zen took it wordlessly and tucked it under his arm. With a smile he waved the pink-faced secretary goodbye and headed down the hall.

The building was fairly empty. He noticed as he passed down the hallways slowly, that there were a few classes in session at the moment. He would pass by a slightly ajar door and hear a person lecturing beyond it. From the inside of this building, Zen could see perfectly outside. Instead of solid walls, the first floor of the building was fashioned so that glass separated the inside of the structure from the outside environment. Outside, the weather was beginning to darken and the wind was picking up. It slapped around the browning trees and blew past unlucky students. The rain was definitely on its way.

Zen adjusted the folder in his hand right hand and his umbrella in the other, proceeding down the hall. He made a turn and found that the hall ended. At the opposite side of him, the door at the end of the hall had a plaque on it's dark brown exterior: 122B.

The actor adjusted his coat and rubbed his hand over his clothes a little, smoothing it out. Confidently, he strutted down the hall and stepped in front of the door.

 _"I'll definitely land this role! Professor Baek's works are amazing and have always been taken well by the public. If I can land this role, I'll be one step closer to becoming a more professional musical actor."_

Nodding to himself, Zen rapped his hand on the door. He heard a shuffle behind it and a yawn.

"Hello? Professor Baek? I received a letter in the mail about a week ago about a potential role in your upcoming production. I was hoping to speak to you about it."

There was more noise coming from behind the door. He could hear someone's footsteps coming closer and closer to the door. There was a small click and the door opened very slightly. Before Zen could say anything, a familiar voice floated from behind the door.

"You sure took your sweet time coming here from the front, Zen."

Star struck, Zen froze at the voice and watched open-mouthed as the door pushed open. Standing in front of him with a smug look on her face, was none other than the girl who had dove after a drowning child.

"M-mona…?"

She smirked and crossed her arms. Zen looked at her and took notice of her outfit. Today she wore a bright yellow, almost mustard colored shirt. At her waste clung tight-fitting denim pants that were rolled up above her ankles, white socks peeking out from underneath black sneakers. She had her curly locks tied back and Zen noticed the multiple piercings on her ears. He jumped at her chuckle and directed his gaze back at her interesting eyes. There was a strange glow that seemed to surround her. Zen rubbed his eyes and did a double-take—and yes, the glow was still there.

"Do come in. I'm sorry for the mess. I'm just organizing some stuff at the moment."

Obediently, Zen stepped into the office. He heard the door click close behind him and watched Mona step by the taller. The office was fairly large, a window on the wall on the other side of Zen. A long white desk stood in front of him, with two black seats underneath. There was a long bookcase on the left side of Zen that was filled with books, photos, and boxes. More boxes were stacked in front of the bookcase. Inside them, there were several thick looking books and folders. Directly to the right side of Zen, a coat hanger stood with several different clothing items hanging loosely on its arms. The same backpack that he had picked up the other day was leaning half-open against the hanger. On the desk, Zen could see a half-eaten breakfast and melting iced coffee. There were a few papers spread across the desk along with a closed laptop.

"Sorry again. I'm fixing some stuff that I need to take back with me later," Mona sighed. She pulled back a chair for herself and sat comfortably on it. She looked at Zen and then nudged the leftover chair under the desk forward, pushing it closer to the actor.

"Please sit, I'm sure you have some questions."

Zen obliged and pulled the chair out. He set his umbrella down next to his feet and then placed the manila folder on top of the desk. The curly-haired thanked him and slide it closer to her. He looked at her hands and found himself drawn to the curves of her fingers, the lines of her knuckles, her clean fingernails and a strange line on the middle section of her middle finger—a tattoo?

"Before I begin, feel free to ask anything on your mind."

His head quickly moved up and he looked at Mona. Zen tightened his lips in a straight line. He had quite a few questions pop up immediately in his mind, but the first that slipped out of his mouth was," Are you Professor Baek?"

Mona chuckled again and sat all the way back into her chair. She confessed," No, I'm not."

"Then who are…?"

"My name is Baek Mona. Baek Chaewon is my uncle," she affirmed quickly.

"So why are you here and not Professor Baek?"

Mona blinked and then sighed in exasperation, rubbing her forehead. "I'm sorry, I keep forgetting that the news hasn't really been broadcasted to many people," she apologized. "Right now, Professor Baek is in the hospital."

"Eh? No way… Is he okay?"

Mona closed her eyes and crossed her arms, her face suddenly tired. She admitted," Right now, I'm not sure. He… got into an accident last week." She rubbed the back of her neck and looked down at the manila folder in front of her.

"As of now, he's been in and out of the ER. The doctor said he'll be fine but he won't be fit to lead a production."

"Then what about this role? What was the point of me coming here," Zen panicked. Suddenly it seemed like this opportunity was escaping him once again. "Is the production cancelled then? I didn't hear anything from anyone, so I assumed everything was okay…"

The other waved away Zen's questions.

"Although our original producer is hospitalized, I can assure you that the production hasn't been cancelled. Our sponsor, Pyramid Entertainment, has instructed that we continue with it."

"So who will direct it?"

The corners of Mona's lips twitched upward and she sat straight. "That's why I'm here."

Zen gawked at her," You?"

He didn't mean to sound shocked, but… he really was. She didn't look at all like someone who knew how to lead a production.

"You got a problem? My uncle… Professor Baek personally asked the CEO of Pyramid to leave it to me. I grew up with my uncle due to certain circumstances and I've watched him write and produce all of his productions," she testified. "Although theatre isn't _exactly_ my expertise, I'm trusting many of those who are assisting with the production to help me when asked."

"Wait, what do you mean theatre isn't your 'expertise'? Professor Baek left this production in the hands of an amateur?"

The girl glared at Zen and he immediately snapped his mouth close.

 _"Oh shit,"_ Zen reflected.

Mona crossed her arms again and this time retorted back," Indeed. I'm an 'amateur' as you said. Theatre is not my major here. However, I took it up as a minor for myself. So despite what you think, I do have _some_ knowledge of what to do. Please don't underestimate me."

There was a dangerous flare bubbling up in her eyes and Zen quickly blurted an apology. But… He couldn't help but get interested in this face that she was making. It was another interesting expression, full of fire and storm. He couldn't help but feel an attraction to those eyes full of flare. Mona crossed her legs and let out an exasperated sigh.

"I know that this is some difficult news to swallow. Honestly I was hoping you wouldn't react like this." The silver-haired looked down into his lap and apologized again. He could feel the disappointment in her voice and it made him feel terrible. Who was he to judge her when, at one point in his life, he was in a similar position. A mere amateur, just starting. Relying on others to guide himself to become a proper actor.

"Even if my uncle hadn't asked the CEO to let me direct this production, I would have pushed forward with it. This screenplay Professor Baek wrote…" Mona's eyes pierced Zen's, a strange confidence burning within those gray irises. She continued," No one else can lead the production of this but me. It sounds like I'm boasting but this project…"

Mona put a hand on the manila folder. "It's important to Professor Baek… It's important to _me_."

Zen knit his hands together and looked down at the folder. The way her voice pulled at that last word made Zen feel a tug in his chest. Before he could say anything, Mona added, "Both Professor Baek and the CEO were really adamant that you play this role. They said it can't be anyone else but you."

She smiled a little at him," I guess that's something we have in common. It can't be anyone else who plays the main character but you and it can't be anyone else who directs this but me."

Zen couldn't help but flush again at her compliment. She seemed to have a power to easily sway his emotions—an extremely dangerous power. Everything word that escaped those heart-shaped lips seemed to send him forward or back.

"Zen—no, no… Hyun Ryu…"

At the sound of his actual name Zen looked at her with a wide-eyed expression. From behind Mona, Zen swore he could see a strange pastel glow emitting from her body. He felt as if those eyes—those strange, _strange_ eyes—were hypnotizing him. He felt like he was being sucked closer and closer to this woman. He could hear his heart pumping; it sounded like how it beat when he was on a rollercoaster that was slowly climbing to the peak of the hill. He could feel his breath get caught in his lungs a little—and… and were those flowers blooming behind her? He felt like he was ensnared in something and this was the first time he had ever felt captured like this. No amount of experiences on stage and the past roles he had played ever prepared him for something like this. This feeling… This feeling that clutched at his heart…

"Please."

 _"Oh god."_

"Ryu, please…"

" _Oh my god."_

"I need you."

 _"Oh… oh my g…"_

"I really, _really_ need you."


	2. Chapter Two - Feelings

He stared out in front of him, the manila folder in his left and his umbrella in his right. He felt the wind blowing around him and the drops of rain blowing into his face.

"Ryu, I need you."

He flushed red at the memory of Mona looking straight into his eyes and telling him that. He couldn't believe what he was feeling at this moment. He barely _knew_ this woman. This was only the second day he had met her and yet—these feelings…

"Ryu… It can only be _you_ …"

 _"These feelings!"_ Zen covered his face with his hands. If this wasn't love, then it was definitely an attraction to her. A crush, in other words?

 _"I don't even… I don't even know her!"_

He couldn't help but mentally scream. This was definitely a record. But these feelings were different from the past women he had dated. There was more about her than the others. Was it the glow? The fire, storm and flare in her eyes? The manhwa-like flowers?

 _"I don't get it!"_

Zen rubbed his face and then let out a deep sigh. He looked at the folder in his hand and recalled the last part of his discussion with Mona before she let him go.

 _"So you'll be taking the role?"_

 _"…Yes," Zen mumbled, his face flushed pink._

 _Mona smiled to him and then opened the manila folder, pulling out a thick paper script from it. She rubbed the front cover and then gently pushed it across the desk to Zen._

 _"That's the script and everything that you need. I wrote the numbers of the other cast members on the inside of it, in case you needed to contact them."_

 _Zen carefully picked up the script from the desk and looked at the title: "_ The View from the Top".

 _Mona continued on," Honestly, we were going to hold auditions, but we're so constrained on time because our sponsors ordered that we have this production out as soon as possible. So we ended up pre-choosing the main characters and only auditioned the secondary characters. Right now, you were the last person we needed. So next week we'll be starting rehearsals. I'm sorry if this is too much, too soon for you."_

 _"No, it's fine…"_

 _She nodded and added," Please look over the script as soon as you can. Most likely we'll meet on Monday. I'll text you and the others this weekend once I finalize a few more things."_

 _Mona looked up at Zen and let him take the folder. She watched as he slipped it into the folder again. He stood up and kept his gaze down._

 _"I'm sorry," Mona began._

 _Zen looked up, not exactly sure why she was apologizing._

 _"You seemed to be shocked at me calling you by your given name. Sorry, Zen. I'll continue to call you by your stage name if you were uncomfortable."_

 _"Oh. No—uh… It, it depends on you. I mean, it's up to you."_

 _Mona gave him a look and then nodded. She stood up herself and leaned forward, her tattooed hand extended to Zen._

 _"Thank you, Zen. I'm really happy that you accepted this role."_

 _Zen jumped up a bit and wiped his hand on his jacket. Then, he took her hand. She squeezed it firmly and shook it with another smile._

 _"Thank you again, Zen. I'll be in your care."_

Honestly… he didn't mind hearing his name roll off her tongue. It sounded lovely, definitely not like how his family used to _spit_ it at him… He really, _really_ liked how Baek Mona had said it.

He gave another sigh and began to push open his umbrella when he heard the door to the college building open. The secretary from earlier rushed up to him, panting.

"Excuse me! Mr. Zen!"

He turned to her, closing his umbrella and then smiled. "How can I help you?"

A black, canvas bag was brought up to his face. She stammered," Mona—I mean Miss Baek asked me to run this over to you. I think she said it was a jacket?"

Zen switched the umbrella to his other hand and took hold of the straps of the bag. He completely forgot about his blazer.

"Thank you, Miss…" Zen glanced at the name tag on her front. "Miss Sunwoo. Please extend Miss Mona my thanks as well."

Sunwoo nodded. Zen opened up his umbrella and carefully put the manila folder in the bag, ready to depart from the university. As he began walking, the secretary stuttered," Miss Baek-!"

Zen turned around and looked at her again.

"Miss Baek… I mean, Mona. She's lovely right? Was she okay?"

Zen paused and then slowly replied," Yes, she looked fine I suppose. Why do you ask?"

"Well," Sunwoo started. "Well… It's just that, it was such a shock to hear that Professor Baek attempted suicide... No one saw it coming… We're all close to the Professor and Mona, so when we heard what happened, we were really worried for her…"

Zen visibly stiffened at the mention of suicide. Mona never mentioned that… she had said that Professor Baek had gotten in an accident… Perhaps she was trying to keep the information under wraps. But this piece of news was huge and worried Zen about Mona. He suddenly felt like walking back into the office and check on her.

She pushed up her glasses again and gave a sad smile. "We were all ready to comfort her and help her out as much as we could… But when we saw her, she looked like nothing happened. And then she told us that the production would go on, despite Professor Baek's condition? We were all so confused. But when Mona took us all aside and asked us to help make this production a success…"

Sunwoo looked at Zen fondly.

"We couldn't help but be swept away by that confidence in her eyes. So please, if Mona shows any sign of weakness or needs help… Please don't hesitate. She's the type to try and shoulder her burdens by herself, but we're scared that with her uncle in the hospital and school and now this, she'll crumble under the pressure. So if you can, please help her as much as you can."

The secretary bowed deeply and then straightened herself up. She gave a small smile and then turned around, walking into the building without looking back at Zen.

* * *

"So you got the role?! HIP HIP, HOORAY," Seven boomed in the chat.

"Banzai, banzai," Seven's girlfriend followed.

Zen smiled a little and replied," Thank you guys. It's apparently pretty big."

"Of course," Jaehee messaged. "A production written by the famous Baek Chaewon almost always is a huge success."

"Yeah, but apparently this is also going to be broadcasted on TV as well."

"WOW! Our Zen has caught his big break!"

"I agree Seven. This will definitely make your career big now, Zen. I'm sure everyone in the fan club will be excited once news comes out."

"Thanks Jaehee. By the way, do any of you know an actress by the name of 'Echo Girl'? She's listed as the other main character for this production."

"Eeek! Eeeeeek! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!"

"Stop it Seven;;;;," Zen messaged back at the excited redhead. His messages were starting to fill the chat room.

"I can't! You're going to co-star in a production with ECHO GIRL! I can't believe you don't know who she is!"

Jae Eun, Seven's lover, chimed in," OMG, you don't know who Echo Girl is Zenny? She's a rising idol and is really popular nowadays! Ahhh, you gotta get me and Seven a copy of her autograph!"

"Yes, plzzzzzzzz! We can make a lot of money selling them lolol ;3"

"Lolol!"

Zen blinked and messaged back," Is she really that big a deal? I'm not all too familiar with idols and stuff, so this is news to me."

"Yes, she really is quite famous. She modelled at Mr. Han's company once and our products sold well because her face was on it," Jaehee added.

"Oo, I know what you're talking about. Those heart-shaped pills! Tbh, her face was barely on there… It was mostly her big chest lolol," Jae Eun replied.

"I see… Well, I guess this really is a big deal then," the actor messaged. "If I do well with this, maybe I'll get more roles to act on TV~ *smiley emoji*"

"This is really great news, Zen. I can't wait to be able to record your shows for me and Taeyeon after the café closes *sparkle emoji*"

"Yea… Getting to act with an idol… I guess I'm being recognized for all my hard work?"

"Of course Zenny, Zen~ But remember~~ Please get me and Saeyoung an autograph~~"

"Lol, of course. Anything for you sweet Jae Eun~ *wink*"

"*gasp emoji* ya ya yaa! Don't go hitting on someone's wife! Get ur own!"

"But Zen, when are you guys going to start practicing? I hope they don't overwork you."

"Aw, thanks Jaehee. And right now, they told me that most likely we'll be starting on Monday."

"I see. That gives you roughly 3 days to look over the script no," Jaehee asked.

"What's the plot :3? Is it about a superhero who saves the galaxy lolol"

Zen glanced at the script that was laying open on the desk in front of him. To be honest, he had already read through most of the script. The story itself was a drama and romance about a young couple who meet by chance. After years of separation, they bump into each other (again by chance) and decide to live together, marrying a year later. But as time goes on, the man and the woman begin to have different ideas about what a 'family' really was. The man yearns to have children, while the woman fears that having a child will change her relationship with her husband, with her dreams and her views of herself. The conflict is mainly between the husband and the wife, battling each other and their inner demons. In the end however, the wife ends up pregnant and the two settle their differences together for a new chapter in their life.

At first, the screenplay itself was extremely plain compared to the works that Professor Baek had previously done. But underneath the simple exterior of the plot, there were a multitude of layers and stories for the man and the woman. That was what Professor Baek was extremely good with—exploring the many layers of a character and bringing it alive from words to reality. When reviewed, critics often wrote that his talent was creating characters that viewers could find themselves in. They were relatable and real, charming and unforgettable. Not only that, the way he put these characters together in different scenes, he was always able to capture the different essences of life. From happiness to struggles, Professor Baek drew in the audience and then would release them into seeing the world in a fresh, new perspective.

"Aigoo, I can't tell anyone. But it's a drama as far as I can tell," Zen replied to Seven.

"Awww. I think a story about a superhero would be totally better xD"

"Whatever genre it is, you'll do amazing," Jaehee complimented.

"*wink* thanks~ I'll be hopping off now tho. Gonna start practicing and working hard! Wish me luck ^^!"

"laterz~"

"Bye Zenny! Fighting!"

"Don't push yourself too much and make sure to eat soon."

* * *

Lee Sunwoo liked her part-time job as the secretary for the Theatre building. It was an easy job. She mostly picked up calls and routed them to the proper person, or answering students' questions of "where is this room" or "what room is Professor X in". Overall, her job was easy money, and as a struggling college student who was low on funds? This job was heaven sent.

Her favorite part of this job however, was interacting with her professors—Professor Baek being her favorite. However, since the incident, his niece was the one who occupied his classroom. Sunwoo didn't mind though since she was extremely fond of the curly-haired underclassman. She had met Mona about three years ago after Professor Baek had forgotten his papers at home. Mona had come to the university and had to hand them to him during the rehearsals for "Impressionism".

At the request of the professor, she ended up staying in the audience seating and watched the entire rehearsal. After, Professor Baek had put the poor underclassman on blast, asking her what her opinion was, if there were any improvements that were needed and what she liked or didn't like about the overall performance. Instead of stuttering, Mona rose to the questions, her legs crossed confidently and a smirk gracing her face. She spent a solid 20 minutes giving her feedback, picking out every flaw that she saw and praising every good action that was seen. Initially, many of the students who were part of the production, Sunwoo included, found her a distasteful and rude underclassman.

"Who was she to talk? She's not even a theatre major," many hissed.

Professor Baek caught wind of these comments and lectured everyone. Critique, in the acting world was absolutely needed.

"Although it's a tough thing to accept, why do you think I let her sit in and give her opinions? Reviews—critique is absolutely needed; it's a critical part of the process of theatre. Critics can help your careers, boost morale, and even aid the creative team in refashioning a show. They do not exist, however, to inspire hate and rage for those working.

"Don't I critique you all everyday while we're working? She was quite polite if you compare her to how I treat you all daily," he had laughed at that point.

"But really, think about what she said to you all. If you think about it, she was your audience for that day. And if you think about it more, you're all right in that she isn't exactly a theatre major, but what about the day of the actual opening of the show? And the other performance days? In the audience, you'll have _actual_ theatre students and even people working in show-biz watching. If Mona could point all those things out to you, what about an actual actor? They'll be tougher on you than she was."

After that, many students formally apologized—some even looked for her on campus and personally asked to come back and watch the rehearsals again. Sunwoo remembered when she had personally walked up to Mona. The girl was sitting outside in the middle of the campus, sketching people as they passed by her. The secretary had almost kneeled on the ground, asking her for her forgiveness and for the curly-haired to come back. After that, Sunwoo found the girl extremely endearing, often treating her out and becoming close to Mona.

In the end, with the help of Mona's encouragement and guidance, "Impressionism" became such a huge hit throughout half of Korea that was taken and turned into a film—many of the same actors performing in the movie. Sunwoo, unfortunately would not perform her own role, but she didn't mind. She preferred the actual theatre stage rather than the silver screen. When she had said that out loud, Mona had agreed.

"You look better on stage in my opinion. You're full of energy and life there. I think if you had gotten your part like the others, your performance wouldn't have done justice to the role and more importantly, to yourself, unni*."

Sunwoo smiled fondly at the memory. She sighed and rubbed her head with her free hand, walking onwards to Professor Baek's office.

Since Zen's departure, Mona hadn't come out of the office. She was probably still organizing the production and making sure everything was working. Although her uncle had put her in charge of directing this project, Pyramid Entertainment had assured everyone that there would also be professionals to help her. Mona had scowled but waved it off.

"As long as they listen to me when I direct them, everything will be fine."

Sunwoo sighed and knocked on the door of 122B. She could hear murmuring on the other side of the door. Carefully, Sunwoo pushed open the door and peeked in. Mona sat the desk, scribbling away at a notepad while her other hand held her phone to her ear. The curly-haired looked up and nodded at Sunwoo, beckoning her to come inside.

The secretary quietly closed the door behind her and placed a bag of food onto the table. She sat down, waiting for the phone conversation to end.

"I understand that sir. As I said earlier, I'll leave it up to you and your team to produce, but Professor Baek has asked that I be in charge of directing the creative part of this production… Okay… No. Again, I'll leave that up to your team… Of course… No, thank you. You and the others have been a big help… So we'll be starting next Monday, correct? …Okay, thank you and good bye."

Mona pulled the phone from her ear and hung up. She rubbed her eyes and then glanced at Sunwoo.

"Sorry unni. The producer from Pyramid called and kept me busy."

Sunwoo smiled," It's fine, but you need to eat. It's already 7PM and you didn't even come out to get lunch."

Mona gave a long sigh and leaned back in her seat," Is it already that late? No wonder my stomach's been protesting so much."

"I ordered some chicken and tteokbokki* for us. Let's hurry and eat before it gets cold."

Mona stared at Sunwoo before launching herself over the table, grabbing at the older woman's hands.

"Unni," she cried. "What would I do without you?!"

* * *

"So what did you think about Zen," Sunwoo asked as she wiped her hands. Mona looked up at her and put down the half-eaten chicken leg.

"Well, what do you want me to say," Mona chuckled. "Do you want to hear the obvious? That the guy is really and unfairly handsome?"

"Aigoo, it's so unfair."

"Right? God really created people unequally," the curly-haired sighed.

"But what I meant was, what do you think about his character? Do you think he'll be a good as the main character?"

"From his past roles, I'm sure he'll easily understand how to flesh out the main character. If I had my way, however, the main character would've been less handsome," laughed Mona. "But as you know, my uncle and even the CEO of Pyramid specifically asked for Zen to star."

The stand-in director paused and put her chopsticks to her lips.

"Though," she began. "I have a feeling that the daughter had more influence than the father…"

"You mean Echo Girl right?"

"Think about it unni… The two main roles were already set in stone compared to the rest of the cast when I had taken over. And they were Zen and Echo Girl."

"Tch, that Echo Girl… She was just a drop out from our college who got it easy in the showbiz world because her daddy runs Pyramid Entertainment. If he wasn't CEO, she would have never got to where she is right now."

"Don't say that unni. Even Choi Kyungju—I mean, Echo Girl worked hard to get to where she is…somewhat…"

"Well, whatever the case, she's obviously using her power to try and set herself up with that poor Zen."

Mona shrugged and picked up a rice cake, chewing on it. "That's up to Zen if he wants that relationship. Though, a relationship with a big name will probably project his career further."

"Or perhaps it'll be the other way, seeing as how handsome that boy is. He gets her career a boost because of his good looks… Aigoo, no one can stand up to those god-like looks…"

Mona laughed again and reached over to pick up another piece of chicken when her cell phone vibrated. She glanced at it on her desk and on the front screen she saw that Zen had texted her.

"A text? From who—ya!" Sunwoo snapped the phone up and looked at the screen closer. "It's Zen! Speak of the devil and he shall appear, haha."

"Ahh, unni gimme my phone."

"Wonder why he's texting you right now?"

"It's probably to confirm when rehearsals begin. He doesn't have any other reason to text me otherwise."

Sunwoo wiggled her eyebrows at Mona, teasing," But what if there's more to it?"

Mona glared and bit into the chicken violently. "There's absolutely no way he's flirting with me. Look at me unni…"

She stood up and waved to her body," I've got nothing to be attracted to."

"Oh shut up, you're a healthy size! Stop calling yourself fat. On every level, you're definitely a better choice than that Echo Girl."

"At least her fat is all in her boobs. Mine's everywhere…"

"Ya, don't make me slap you with this chicken you brat." Sunwoo slid the phone back to Mona. She added," Aren't you gonna check and reply?"

Mona rolled her eyes, muttering," Since you keep pestering me about it…"

She swiped right on her phone and tapped her password in. Quickly, she checked the chat with Zen and looked at his recent message.

"Did you eat?"

Mona yelped as she accidentally bit the inside of her cheek.

"Oh, are you alright? So what did he say—YA, look at this guy," Sunwoo snatched up the phone again and pointed at the message.

"Look at him! 'Did you eat?' This guy was definitely thinking of you!"

Mona caressed her check and mumbled," It's not like that…"

"Then why would he ask you? He obviously cares about your well-being."

"Ahh, unni… It's not like that, I'm telling you…"

"Ya, you don't casually message an acquaintance 'did you eat' out of nowhere. You obviously made a good impression on him!"

"Uhh," Mona thought back to the event that happened a few days back with the drowning kid. "Good impression isn't really… what I would describe it as…"

"What do you mean? Did you already know him before today? Now that I think about it, you told me earlier that you knew he was coming! And that jacket, what was that about? Tell me everything, Baek Mona, or I'll never buy you another meal!"

Mona winced at the threat. Free food with Sunwoo was always good…

"Fine, fine! Here's what happened."

She began to retell the events before, explaining how she had dived in to save the child and how Zen was there to take the credit for her. She also went on to tell Sunwoo about the jacket and how Mona owed Zen a meal.

"Ya, what a way to charm a man!"

"Unni, noooo," Mona slide her head into her folded arms on the desk. "Please, it's really not like that…"

"They say that to capture a man's heart, the first impression is a huge deal. And look at you! You literally dove straight into his heart!"

"Unnniiiii…"

"So what are you gonna say to him?"

"I'm going to say that 'Yes, I've eaten. Thank you.' Then end it at that. There's nothing else to say," Mona scoffed.

"Ehh, you should say something else. Ask him if he's eaten too. Maybe ask him how he is and spark up a conversation with him."

"No. I'm just a director. There shouldn't be any relationships between co-workers…"

"I never said that it had to escalate to a relationship, but I mean if you're thinking that far ahead…"

"Ahh! I'm gonna kick you out!"

Sunwoo laughed and stood up, dodging a pair of chopsticks being flung at her," Don't worry I'm already leaving. I need to get home before the last train leaves. I'll let you and your Zen talk to each other in private!"

Mona shrieked as Sunwoo laughed and gave her a wink before leaving.

"That unni… Making up random nonsense," Mona hissed to herself. She could feel her face turning red at the thought of her and Zen together.

" _Gah, it's not like that."_

She turned to her phone and looked at the message again. She didn't want to be rude and ignore it, but she also didn't want to stoke the fire that Sunwoo had started. With a squint, Mona plucked her phone up and hurriedly messaged back.

"Yes, I have. Thank u for asking."

As soon as she hit send, Mona threw her phone into her bag next to her. She rubbed her hands over her eyes and groaned loudly.

" _That damn unni!"_

The curly-haired opened her eyes and gave a drawn out sigh, leaning back into her seat. It wasn't as if she wasn't _attracted_ to the actor. He was extremely good looking and from the few moments she had met him, he seemed like a fairly good person. There were just several prominent points that made it impossible for any romance to bloom between them.

Firstly, it was the fact that they were now co-workers. Dating in the workplace was already discouraged in normal jobs, but for a high profile kind of workplace? It was almost impossible. Besides, Zen had to think about his future. A scandal of any sort could hurt his chances at stardom. There were plenty of former stars who fell from fame because of scandals. And personally? Mona didn't want such a thing to happen to Zen.

Secondly, she couldn't bear the thought of standing next to him—the guy was _too_ handsome. Compared to that god-like creation, Mona looked like chopped liver. He was fit, tall and _handsome_ while she was fairly average looking and larger than most girls around her. It wasn't as if she hated herself though—she was actually fairly confident in her own looks. It was just… there were definitely people far better looking than her.

And lastly… Mona gave another sigh and laced her hands over her stomach. She thought back on her last relationship and felt a tight squeeze in her chest.

" _I shouldn't think about him."_

She straightened herself back up and glanced at the clock, the hands reading almost 8PM. She scratched the back of her head and got up, packing the food away to take back home. She began to tidy up the office, straightening out the folders and papers that she had gone through.

"I'll probably have to come back tomorrow and look through the rest of the papers," she muttered to herself. She tossed the last papers into the box that sat next to her backpack.

"That should do it. I'll bring this stuff back and organize it at home."

She glanced at her backpack and then slowly reached for her phone inside it. She clicked the home button on the front screen sat a message from Zen. She chuckled embarrassed at his attention and scratched the back of her head. She barely talked to people, both in person and through texts and the like. She found it difficult to follow up honestly. It wasn't as if she couldn't do it though. She preferred to be on the side and watch honestly. So despite Sunwoo's teasing, Mona found that having Zen texting her was a little fun. It was obviously better than having to talk to the producers and the team that Pyramid had hired. At least with Zen, it was kind of casual. A little awkward on her part because of all the things Sunwoo had said, but nevertheless… Interacting with other people, especially during _this_ time…

Mona didn't mind it.

She should text Sunwoo and other people more often, she thought to herself as she unlocked her phone. Tapping the messenger app, she opened up her chat with Zen.

"Good girl~ I'm glad you did, Mona ^^. Are you taking care of yourself?"

"I can take care of myself of course. What about u"

"lolol. Of course I take care of myself! I work out all the time, eat well and sleep good."

Mona smiled a little, putting on her jacket and then her backpack. She messaged back," Lucky. I've been fairly stressed lately so I just eat whatever's handed to me lol. Don't get me started on sleep either x_x"

"Tsk, tsk! You have to take care of yourself! If you want, I can feed you some good food~"

"Lol~ Well, maybe u can next time. I still owe u a meal remember?"

"Ahh, I completely forgot about our date : ( I'm already busying myself with learning my lines.."

"Ur quite a hardworker."

"Thank you! *winky emoji* But.. The more I get popular, the more I feel like I have to care about what others think… So I have no choice but to put effort into my work and how I look…"

Mona looked surprised at reading his comment. Zen was already _extremely_ handsome, so the fact that he was worried over his looks to the public eyes surprised her.

"u have natural talent and amazing looks… and plus u try hard. U'll succeed for sure."

Hitting send, Mona slipped her phone into her pocket and lifted the box of papers, holding it with her left arm and pressing it against her hip. She felt her phone vibrate but she opened the door instead of checking the message. She closed the office and locked it, hanging the lanyard of keys around her neck. As she turned and walked down the hall to leave the building, she pulled out her phone and checked Zen's reply.

"Wow. Thanks for saying that… I feel really good actually.

You know Mona… you really know how to make people happy ^^"

Mona felt her face grow a little warm but brushed it off. She was just talking to a friend and co-worker. That's it.

"I'm flattered. I don't think I'm quite good at talking to people honestly. It usually takes me forever to reply to anything, so talking to u like this is new for me I guess."

"Oh… I'm glad you're talking to me Mona. I find you an extremely interesting person!"

Mona chuckled.

" _Thank god, I'm just interesting is all. Nothing more."_

As she began to type out her reply, Mona felt a hand on her shoulder. At sensation of being touched, she quickly jumped and turned around, ready to kick whoever tried to harass her. But instead of going for a kick, Mona's eyes widened.

"Hello, Miss Baek!"

In front of her, a fairly petite girl with chocolate-colored hair gave Mona a small wave. Her blue eyes sparkled and her glossy pink lips were drawn up into a smile. She held her small hands behind her back and smiled wider.

"You… You're Choi Kyungju, right," Mona guessed. She knew exactly who this person was, but it surprised her that the idol was actually here in front of her. She was notorious for having a tight schedule and being almost impossible to meet up with. So to see her here made Mona unconsciously put up her guard. But at the sudden mention of her name, the woman coughed loudly. Her smile tightened and her eyes looked like they were almost glaring at the curly-haired.

"Echo Girl," she corrected. "And you're Miss Baek, correct?"

"Yeah," Mona replied quickly. Seeing Echo Girl in person was completely different than seeing her on TV. She was definitely very cute and sweet-looking—but for some reason, Mona knew something off about the idol.

Echo Girl smiled and put her hand out," It's so nice to meet you! I'm sorry I haven't contacted you at all. With me being an idol… I barely have time for even myself!"

"I understand. I hope that when rehearsals start, that your schedule clears up," the stand-in director answered. "It would be troublesome for everyone, especially since you're taking the main female role."

She reached out and gently shook the idol's hand, noting the way Echo Girl's eyes seemed to twitch at the mention of the main role.

"Of course! That's why I _personally_ came here tonight. I wanted to inform you that my schedule will be open and that I'll be here for every practice!"

Mona felt herself twitch at the way she emphasized the word 'personally'. She thought back on her conversation with Sunwoo about the idol. Perhaps she really did do something to get the main role.

"I also came here to ask if Zen has already accepted the role? Because if he hasn't, I can definitely try to help you recruit him if you need," Echo Girl insisted.

And now Mona's suspicions were really looking correct. Mona smiled again and let go of Echo Girl's hand. She adjusted the box in her hand and then looked straight at Echo Girl," That's fine. He came by today and accepted the role. He even took the script with him."

"Oh good! I was a little worried," smiled the idol as she put a relaxed hand over her chest.

" _Why would you be worried,"_ Mona asked herself mentally. She shifted her weight to left leg and observed Echo Girl's relieved look.

"So when will we be starting? Is it soon? I think Zen and I will need to have extra practices together so that we really work well. I know that this production is really important for you and Professor Baek, so Zen and I really must be perfect when we act."

Before she could control herself Mona countered," Are you obsessed with Zen or something?"

" _Oh shit,"_ she quickly thought to herself.

Echo Girl's eyes widened and she stuttered," W-what do you… Ex-excuse me?"

Mona put her hand up quickly and apologized," I'm sorry, I just assumed. It just seemed like you were fairly interesting in him."

"O-of course! He and I are working together. Of course I'd be interested! I want this project to turn out to be a success!"

"I understand, I'm sorry. It's been a long day and I'm kind of tired. I didn't mean obsessed in a negative way."

Echo Girl gave her a look and then put on another smile," Well, it doesn't matter since Zen already accepted the role. Anyway, since that's that, I'll be going now. I'm sorry that I stopped you so late."

Mona winced but quickly forced a smile, replying back," No, I'm sorry as well. Please have a safe trip back."

As Echo Girl passed her, the idol whispered under her breath," Don't get too cocky just because you're directing."

Mona twitched but didn't move from her spot. Instead she let Echo Girl walk off. The idol continued on her way, passing through the university gates in the darkness. In the distance, Mona heard a car engine starting and saw a black van drive past the gate. Mona sighed and kneeled down on her heels. She rubbed her face and then held her hands against her eyes. She let out a sigh and then covered her mouth, letting loose a loud scream.

" _I'm so stupid! Oh my god, I can't believe I did that! Dammit, I wanna crawl into a ditch and die for a minute…"_

She stayed in this position for a good minute and then dragged herself up with a groan. How could she let that comment slide out of her mouth like that? Though, Kyungu's little threat also concerned the director. Sure, it was deserved on Mona's part for her slip-up, but her suspicions about the idol was only growing. If anything, Mona would need to stay on her guard around the other. If she messed up again, it could cost her the production—especially since Echo Girl was the daughter of Pyramid's CEO.

Mona adjusted the box again and pulled her phone out, checking the time. It was already 8:15 and Zen had sent her a message.

"Are you on your way home now?"

Mona began walking again, heading straight for the bus stop now. With one hand, she replied back to Zen," Sorry for the late reply. And yeah, I'm heading to the bus stop right now."

"It's dark out now right? Be careful! A beautiful woman like you might get hurt! Or worse, someone might jump you!"

Mona chuckled and felt a wave of relief wash over her," I'll be fine. There's no way someone will come at me."

"You never know!"

"Well, to be honest… I did get jumped on campus"

"*shocked emoji* What! Are you okay? Did they hurt you at all?"

"No, I was just joking. I just met ur cast-mate is all."

"Who? Was it that Echo Girl?"

Mona's eyebrow lifted upwards and she replied back," Yea, she came up to me right as I was leaving the theatre building. I think she wanted to meet up with u to practice together."

"Oh, I see. Speaking of practice, did you decide when we're starting rehearsals?"

Mona suddenly felt a strange twitch in her finger. She didn't exactly like the way Zen had easily brushed off the idol. But there was a part of her that felt a little happy. "Yes, next Monday. I'll be contacting everyone but I think we're going to start at 9AM. Sound good to u?"

"Mhm~ I'm really excited to start lol"

"Lol, are you memorizing lines right now," Mona asked. She spotted the bus stop up ahead. And quickly added into the chat," Oh, I'm at the stop now."

"Good. But to answer your question, yes I'm starting to right now."

"Don't overwork urself. We need u to be healthy."

"^^ Of course. I wanted to get ahead and learn my lines so that I can flesh out the character soon."

"Ahh, I see."

"Has the bus arrived?"

"Not yet. It'll be here soon tho."

"Make sure to stand behind the line~"

"Lolol, of course. How's the memorizing going?"

"Pretty good! I think it'd be easier if I had a partner to memorize these lines with."

"Want me to stop by and help," teased Mona. As soon as she sent the text off, she suddenly felt her face flush. She gave a low groan and looked up at the sky.

" _Why am I flirting with him? I need to have some control, dammit..."_

She felt her phone vibrate in her hand. She looked at the text.

"Oh… Thank you ^^ I think I'd enjoy practicing more if you were here."

Mona blushed lightly, covering her smile with her hand. Honestly, talking to Zen made her feel really happy. But she knew that she couldn't let herself feel any more than that. Zen was a co-worker and possibly a friend at this point. A relationship was out of the question.

"Lol, one day maybe. Perhaps u should ask Echo Girl for help? After all, she's ur actual partner in this production," Mona replied. She didn't like having to use Echo Girl's name, but she knew that at some point she would need to draw a mental line for her feelings—if her feelings ever got to that point. And Echo Girl was the line she needed.

"Hm, perhaps. By the way, didn't you say you would by me a meal? Are you available anytime soon?

Mona felt herself mentally scream. Here she was, attempting to keep their relationship at a distance but Zen seemed to easily ignore these things. Mona half-wondered if he realized that it felt like he was flirting? He probably thought he was just being friendly.

" _I should really end this conversation and leave it at that,"_ Mona thought mentally.

"Ah, I totally forgot," she messaged back. "I'm busy trying to clean up my uncle's office tomorrow and this weekend I have some work I need to do."

"Aw, that's okay."

"Sorry :/," Mona typed in. She could hear the bus slowly rolling up to the stop. Mona watched as it pulled up in front of her. As the doors opened, she hopped on the bus and showed her ID to the driver. He gave a nod and she slipped into the nearest available seat, putting the box onto the seat next to her.

"It's okay~ Are you on your way back though?"

"Yea, just got on the bus."

"Good, stay safe okay? I'm gonna go and keep memorizing these lines. Have a lovely evening~"

"Don't overwork urself Zen. Good night."

* * *

Zen stared at the last message sent from Mona and gave a sigh. Turning off his phone, Zen looked out the window. It was starting to rain again, the droplets rolling down the glass. He gave a long stretch and rolled off the couch, trudging to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and glanced at the contents: water and beer.

 _"Yikes, I really need to get some actual food…"_

He glanced out the window again and sighed. Walking to the market in the rain was already fairly troublesome, but having to carry back groceries was even more of a pain.

Zen sighed and pulled out a bottle of water. He walked back to the couch and pulled the script into his lap. He flipped through the pages mindlessly, finally settling on the first one. On the page in rushed writing were several names and numbers. He wondered what these people were like and how they looked.

 _"These people are all close to Mona and her uncle,"_ Zen recalled from his conversation with the Sunwoo.

He frowned a little and rubbed his finger over Mona's name, remembering what the secretary had said about Professor Baek. From her mouth, the professor had attempted at suicide. Mona had merely stated that he had gotten himself into an 'accident'. Was the reason why Professor Baek attempted at suicide because of the screenplay he had wrote? After all, Mona had said that this production was extremely important for both of them. Zen wondered exactly why.

He pulled out his phone from his pocket again and opened his messages. He looked back at his chat between himself and Mona and then sighed again. There was a strange feeling that he got from talking to Mona. It wasn't a bad feeling though.

He actually really liked this feeling. He found that talking to Mona was enjoyable too. There was a special connection between her and him, Zen thought. Their first meeting wasn't exactly the most romantic, but it was definitely interesting and memorable.

His phone suddenly vibrated in his hand and a chat popped up at the top of the screen. It was a message from the RFA.

Zen hesitated to open the app up. Though he liked his friends in the RFA, he felt alone around them, especially when they talked about their partners. He shook the doubt out of his mind and opened up the messenger. The chat room was titled "Party Date!" There was suddenly a swell of excitement bubbling up from his stomach. He quickly tapped the chat but instantly regretted it.

"Zen, you're here."

"Geh, it's the Cat Mom," Zen immediately responded.

"What does that mean? Well, it doesn't matter. The ladies have set-up a date for the next party."

"Yeah, I saw the chat name."

Nae Sena, Jumin's wife, chimed in," Zen, it's you ^^. I saw your earlier chats. Congrats on the new role."

"Thanks Sena ^^."

"Anyway, I'm glad you hopped on. We were discussing the date for the party, but we're worried about the party date conflicting with any of your practice days. Has your director talked to you and given you specific dates?"

Zen rubbed his chin and then replied back," We're having our first practice on Monday. If you want, I can ask Mona right now."

"Mona? Is that your director," Jumin questioned.

"Yeah, she's Baek Chaewon's niece and the stand-in director."

"Eh? Stand-in? Isn't Baek Chaewon going to direct it," Sena quickly asked.

"He got into an accident and his niece was put in charge."

"Will this affect you and the show, Zen?" Jaehee seemed nervous about the production.

"Not at all. Mona is a really lovely woman."

"That's good, but we still need a date, so please ask her as soon as you can," Sena concluded.

Sena wasn't one to beat around the bush, Zen knew. She was straight forward and did things quickly and efficiently—a perfect business woman. Zen switched apps and quickly messaged Mona about the party.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but have you heard of the RFA?"

He expected her to message back later, but was pleasantly surprised to receive a message almost immediately from the curly-haired woman.

"Yea, ur part of that organization, correct?"

"Mhm! They're discussing the date for our next party and wanted to make sure prospective dates didn't conflict with our practices."

"That's nice of them. What dates are they looking at so far? I just got home so I can look at the schedule."

"Let me ask them ^^"

Zen switched back to the RFA and was hit with a message from Jaehee.

"I hope that you and this Mona aren't dating honestly…"

Seven was in the chat and had added in," Aigoo, Mama Jaehee's worried!"

"Of course. A scandal can be a problem for rising stars such as Zen. I'm merely looking out for his career is all, Saeyoung."

"Let him be~~ He's the last one of all of us to still b single!"

Zen huffed a little at Seven's comment and replied," It's just hard to find the one is all!"

"Did you talk to Mona," Sena asked.

"Yeah, she's asking what dates are you guys looking at right now."

"Currently, we're looking at a Christmas Eve party, so December 24th."

"Okay, I'll talk to her real quick."

Zen did another switch and messaged Mona back," Christmas Eve is the date they're looking at"

"Oh, we definitely don't have practice. Echo Girl will be doing some Christmas performances that week, so ur party is safe lol"

"Oh good ^^ let me tell them then~"

Zen went back to the RFA chat and told them Mona's answer.

"Oh lovely," Sena chatted. "So we'll plan the party for the 24th."

Seven sent a few heart-eyed emojis into the chat and added," I'm really, really excited! Our last party was 6 months ago!"

"Yes. It was quite successful as well," Jumin added.

"Well, we all should make sure we find people to invite again. As usual, send me or Jae Eun a message and we'll e-mail them the invite."

Zen blinked and immediately thought about Mona. His long fingers tapped the keyboard and messaged the RFA," Can I invite the staff from my production?"

"I don't see why not," Sena replied. "Send me that Mona girl's e-mail. I'll ask."

"^^, thank you Sena~ I can always count on you."

"Of course. She's an amazing woman," Jumin proudly gushed.

Jaehee popped in again and texted," Zen, I hope there won't be anything between you and your cast mates, especially with your career really taking off now. You have to manage your private life from now on."

"If this is because of Mona, don't worry too much Jaehee. She and I are just co-workers," Zen quickly lied. He knew Jaehee was correct about things like relationships when it came to actors, but he felt like there really was something more with Mona. But he didn't want to disappoint Jaehee and his fans, so he quickly had lied.

"Oh, okay. That's good. I just want you to succeed is all Zen."

"Don't worry too much~ I completely understand you. Anyway, I gotta memorize some lines, so I'll talk to you all later!"

He hopped off the RFA chat and sighed. Quickly, he went back to his text messages with Mona.

"Will you be available Christmas Eve? They want to invite you to the RFA party ^^"

Mona replied within a minute," Me as in me or me as in the staff?"

"Well, they want to invite the staff, but I want to know if you're available more than the others."

"Oh, uh.. most likely. I don't go anywhere really."

"Oh? Let's go somewhere together one day~"

"To be honest, I wanna go to the beach. But it's getting colder, so it wouldn't be as fun."

"Oo, the beach sounds lovely!"

"Lol, I bet u love the beach. U probably get all the ladies huh"

"Ooh, are you calling me handsome *winky emoji*"

"Do u really need me to tell u that lol. Yes, u are extremely handsome, so I assume that when u go to the beach shirtless, people come flocking."

Zen laughed and felt himself smiling. He continued to text her and felt the banter between them so attractive. He felt charmed by her jokes and her witty texts, often finding himself laughing out loud. Part of him wondered if she was feeling the same way as he was, but then another part of him knew that these feelings were rushed. He needed more time to get to know her, despite the warm feeling he got just from talking to her.

Not only that, there was the issue that they were now co-workers. If they dated, it would difficult. They'd have to hide their relationship and lie about it. Not only that, if they were found out, especially while they were working together on this production, it could cost her more than Zen himself. The production was important to both of them, her more so apparently. He didn't want to cause her any unnecessary problems.

But at the same time, he truly felt something between them and the warmth that she gave off was something that he wanted to pursue.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Hello again and thank you for reading chapter two~ There's some confusion with some Korean terms that I've sort of been having, such as whether or not to add -ah or -ssi to the end of names when certain people are being addressed, so I stuck with the Americanized titles like 'Miss' and 'Mr'. I did use unni* though, so that's a little confusing lol. Anyway, here are some terms that I **'d explained~

Unni - A Korean term that means older/big sister that females call a female relative or a older girl they admire or respect. It is sometimes used as a honorific or to replace a person's name. The male version of this term is Nuna or Noona.

Tteokbokki - A popular Korean food made from soft rice cake, fish cake and sweet red chili sauce called gochujang.

Please review or favorite and I hope that you come back for chapter three 3.


	3. Chapter Three - Good Day

Monday came quickly, much to Zen's happiness.

He was excited that the rehearsals were finally starting, so much so that he had already memorized almost half of the script already. He spent the entire weekend cooped up in his house, working out and memorizing. This was the time in his life that he felt truly alive, when work was going and success was within his reach.

The other reason that he was happy for Monday was because of a certain someone.

All weekend, despite Mona being busy, Zen and her would talk over text. Their texts ranged from discussing the script to random blurbs. But his favorite conversations was when they began to talk on a deeper level.

" _I actually knew about u when I was overseas."_

" _Really? Why? How," Zen asked excitedly._

" _There was a clip going around on the Internet of a guy with some wicked vocals. One of my Korean friends showed me it on Tuwitter and it was u."_

" _Ahhh, that video… But! How was my vocals ^^?"_

" _At first I thought it was gonna suck."_

" _Ehh *shocked emoji*"_

" _Ya lol. I saw the preview and thought 'ah, he's probably popular because of his looks', but u really proved me wrong when u sang. I ended up becoming a fan and asked my uncle to get me a DVD of one of ur performances and send it to me when I was in California," Mona replied._

" _Oooo, so you were in the States for college? You must be rich \\(^ . ^)/"_

" _Lol, nah. I was there because of some stuff. But my uncle has a friend there and they let me stay there for college. I had to study my ass off for the entrance exams and for the scholarships. Then the family I stayed with made me work at their business 6 days a week TT_TT"_

" _Omg, you must've worked hard."_

" _I did, but in the end I think it was worth it. I mean, although I didn't outrightly pursue my interest, I came to learn a lot about myself. Idk, I learned to love who I was I guess. Have u ever felt that way? Cuz you're so damn handsome lol"_

 _Zen blushed at her text but then found himself smiling fondly. He texted back, "Of course. I think that we're all our own harshest critic. Even if I'm handsome, I found faults about myself that people looked past. Even to this day, I'm still fighting against these faults. But I think that's something that makes us human. Having these demons but also having the courage to fight them everyday.. We're stubborn creatures!"_

"… _Ur really cool, Zen lol."_

Zen smiled fondly at their conversations. Baek Mona was a wonderful person to talk to. Their constant back and forth banters were fun and full of charm. Instead of constantly needing to send selfies and talk about himself, he had fun talking about small everyday things. They talked about the clouds, the way people looked at airports and even things like their favorite pen brands. Hell, Zen had even gathered some courage to call her on Sunday.

 _He held his cellphone in his hand, staring at Mona's contact profile. His thumb was hovering over the call button, but his mind was running amok: there was no point in calling her when they were constantly texting! Not only that, what if she didn't answer? He would've felt a blow to his heart honestly. He scratched his head and gave a loud groan._

" _Just thinking about it doesn't mean it'll happen! I'll never know till I try," Zen consoled himself._

 _He tapped the call button and shut his eyes tightly. There was no way she'd pick up. After all, judging from her texts, she was busy. With what? Zen didn't know exactly. But there was definitely no way she—_

" _Zen?"_

 _Zen lurched forward at the sound of his name, fumbling his phone in his hand._

" _Zen, are you there?"_

 _Zen clutched the phone and stared at the screen. She picked up. She actually picked up! Zen felt his heart swell with joy._

" _S-sorry! I, uh.. accidentally called you. My bad."_

 _There was a chuckle on the other side of the line and Zen suddenly realized how gentle her voice sounded, even if it sounded far away. They had only spoken twice face to face before, so her voice still surprised him… but for some reason, it felt like he was suddenly quenched of some mysterious thirst. Had he been unknowingly yearning to hear her voice?_

" _That sounds quite clumsy of you. Something that doesn't really fit your image honestly, haha," her kind laughs calmed Zen._

 _He closed his eyes and smiled, laying down on his couch and putting his phone near his face," Well, what if I said that I just wanted to hear you? Would that fit my image more?"_

" _Oh yeah, definitely. That's definitely something up your alley."_

 _They laughed for a moment till Zen stopped and asked quickly," So.. what're you up to?"_

" _Mmm, well I'm sort of wandering around the hospital right now."_

" _The hospital? Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?"_

" _No, I'm fine. It's my uncle. I'm just waiting."_

" _Oh," Zen started. He wanted to ask a lot of questions about Professor Baek, but would it be too nosy of him? It was Sunday. They had only been talking for so long, but was it long enough to ask such a thing? Why_ exactly _the professor was in the hospital?_

" _So… why aren't you with your uncle? Shouldn't you be there instead of wandering around?"_

 _There was silence for a moment, but Mona gave a strained chuckled._

" _You're not wrong," she answered slowly. "Right now… It's hard for me to actually speak to him. I feel like everything I'm holding inside will tumble out in front of him. So I usually wait till he falls asleep, then I just leave some paperwork… change the flowers… deliver any mail… cut fruits…"_

" _Wouldn't it be better to talk to him or someone about your problems though?"_

" _Again, you're not wrong," she sighed. "I'm just a coward."_

" _You're definitely not," Zen quickly countered. "You're one of the bravest women I've ever seen. If you weren't brave, you wouldn't have jumped into that river to save that kid."_

 _Another long silence but this time Mona snorted. Her chuckle started slowly and quietly, slowly evolving into a gently and steady laugh._

" _I think I've said it before, but you're really amazing Zen. You're right, I can be brave but a terrible quality of mine is that I tend to run away from confrontation. But…"_

 _Zen waited for her to continue._

" _But I think… That if I have people like you to cheer me on, one day I'll be able to turn around and run straight at my problems instead. If that makes sense, haha."_

" _If it's support that you're asking for, then I'm the man to turn to! I can be like, your number one fan!"_

" _That's very reassuring."_

" _But I must say, Mona… You can't trust men too easily, okay? Sure they can support you and such, but always have your guard around them. They're wolves!"_

" _Haha, oh gosh. So what about you? Are you also a wolf? Or are you a sheep?"_

" _I'm the biggest wolf out there! If there's a man that claims to be a sheep, they're definitely a wolf in sheep's clothing! You have to be careful."_

" _Oh-hoo… But you're a very kind wolf, I think. A handsome, kind wolf haha."_

 _Zen flushed brightly and put the back of his hand against his forehead—it was warm._

" _Ah-ahh, you shouldn't tease me so much. Wolves are fierce predators after all."_

 _She laughed again and in the background he could hear a noise that sounded like a vending machine. There was another noise and then she made a grunting noise, as if she had sat herself down._

 _There was a silence running between the two again. Zen could hear her breathing and occasionally the noise of her taking a sip of something. He adjusted his body and laid on his back, staring at the ceiling. It wasn't an awkward silence. It was a silence that was present between two people that were completely comfortable with each other. It was a warm silence that was slowly tempting Zen to sleep._

 _Mona took a deep breath in and Zen could hear her exhaling it slowly. Before Zen could ask if there was anything on her mind, Mona spoke first._

" _Have you ever felt like you were at the bottom of the world?"_

 _Zen paused and then answered firmly," Of course. There was a time in my life that was like that."_

"… _Yeah. Me too. I'm sure everyone has. But sometimes… Sometimes I feel like I still haven't gotten up from it. Like I'm still stuck."_

" _I… don't want to be nosy and if you feel uncomfortable please tell me but… does this have anything to do with Professor Baek?"_

 _She stayed silent, but Zen waited patiently. She hummed quietly and replied," Yeah, kind of."_

 _There was a thud and she sighed loudly," I'm sorry, hospitals really depress me. I shouldn't have gone on like that. But uhm…"_

 _There was a pause and another deep inhale._

" _Sunwoo already told me that she talked to you… So I assume you kind of know what happened to Professor Baek instead of what I had told you previously."_

" _Mm, yeah… I didn't want to intrude on anything…"_

" _No, no. You have the right to know, especially since you're taking up a role in his production. It's my fault for lying."_

 _He could hear her shifting around and messing with something in her hands._

" _It's just… I think everyone who's had a relative or friend attempt… suicide," she stopped and took a deep breath. "Well, I'm sure they've all felt like this… Like it's their fault for not noticing the signs. My uncle? I thought everything was good, but when I heard he was in the hospital… I realized I was still just a child—I didn't know anything. I feel like I'm stuck at the bottom again."_

 _Zen shifted his body to the side, facing towards his phone. He closed his eyes and felt like instead of a phone lying down next to him, it was the curly-haired director. There was another silence but Mona continued quietly._

" _When I had hit the bottom… Like when I first did, my uncle was there. He helped me through everything. And I feel like, right now… I have to make sure that I can help him. No, I_ want _to help him… But, uhm… Ahh," she groaned. "I'm sorry, I keep babbling."_

" _No, I like it. I like hearing you complain," Zen reassured. "You look like the type to hold everything in. Even your friend said that about you."_

 _There was a noise on the other side of the line._

" _I know it's not much, but I'm definitely here to support you. Please rely on me okay, Mona?"_

 _On the other side, Zen wondered what face she was making. Was she grossed out by his advances? Or was she blushing? He thought about the way her face would look with a light dust of pink on her cheeks. He wondered what she did when she was flustered. Some women, he noticed, often twirled their hair when they were embarrassed. Some touched their ears. Other women puffed their cheeks._

 _What would Baek Mona do?_

" _Since you offered… I'll be in your care again," Mona's voice clearly sounded._

 _Zen smiled to himself._

" _Yes, please trust me."_

Presently, the tall actor blushed brightly. He was so casual in their call yesterday, asking her to trust him! He truly was a wolf… It was just a shame that after that, Mona had left to see go to her uncle. She didn't text back after words as well.

"She definitely thinks you're strange Hyun Ryu," he muttered to himself. He pressed his hands over his eyes and sighed deeply.

It wasn't like he had asked her to be his girlfriend though! He just told her to trust him was all. This was something that co-workers could do—what friends do! Zen nodded to himself thoughtfully. He did all that in the name of friendship. That's what he would say if anyone asked, especially Baek Mona.

Zen slide his hands down, pressing them together and over his nose.

He was lying, of course. He wanted more between them. He wanted to see her more, to talk to her more. Texting was starting to become a hassle—he wanted to hear her low voice, her soft chuckles. A single call had spoiled him and had spoiled texting. He couldn't imagine how he'd feel if he touched her. If he held her hand, he would need more. If he hugged her, he would need even more. He feared that if he got to that point, he would never want to let her go.

"You have to be more responsible, Hyun Ryu. People don't just fall in love at such a fast speed..."

Zen glanced at the clock and checked himself in the mirror. He patted the top of his head and adjusted his jacket, giving himself one last up and down. He gave his reflection a smile and turned to the front door.

"It's okay. I have all the time in the world. Right now, I'm going to do well in rehearsals!"

* * *

Baek Mona started her days erratically. Some days she would wake up at 4AM, eat a slice of bread and go jogging. Other days, she would wake up at noon, stumble into the kitchen and eat whatever she could find. On days where she had important meetings in the morning, she would either not sleep at all in fear that she would be late or she would set hundreds of alarms.

But today, Mona woke up at 5AM. She woke up in an empty home, filled with boxes and scattered books and papers. She scratched her head and yawned. She blinked and picked up her glasses. She wasn't blind, but her vision wasn't perfect, so she often just used her glasses at home or when she was feeling too lazy to put in contacts.

She got up and stretched on her bed, noticing that she was surprisingly not tired. In fact, she felt well-rested—something that she hadn't felt in the last couple of weeks.

" _Especially after the incident…"_

Mona got up and walked herself to the kitchen. She stepped carefully over the messy papers and books that were all over the floor. She tsked herself and made a note that she definitely needed to clean up the place.

Her home was an apartment that she shared with her uncle. The space was quite large for two people, but it quickly filled up with stacks of Professor Baek's manuscripts and Mona's projects. It was on the 5th floor of an apartment complex that stood in the middle of a fairly well-off neighborhood. By bus, it was approximately a 25-minute commute to the university. The nearest station was a 15-minute walk.

Originally, when Mona came back to Korea, she had planned to get her own home. She hated ever being a burden to her uncle. Due to… certain circumstances, Mona was raised by Professor Baek and in a single parent household, Mona never wanted to cause her uncle any trouble. Sometimes she feared that her presence itself was a bother. But when she had gotten off the plane, her uncle had welcomed her home with open arms. He told that it would be completely fine for her to stay with him, since she was basically his daughter.

Mona initially felt guilty for leeching off him even as an adult, but as time went by she realized how comforting it was to have another person live in the same vicinity as you. So when her uncle was first put in care at the nearby hospital, sleep eluded Mona for several days. The thought of being alone was foreign to her.

She sighed and opened the fridge, looking through the contents. She took a hold of two eggs and began to pace about the kitchen, making her breakfast. She began to wonder why she was suddenly feeling well-rested. Her at-home situation was still the same. She was still alone in a messy apartment.

" _Yes, please trust me."_

She felt her heart quicken at the memory of their call. She dumped her scrambled eggs quickly onto a plate and grabbed the bread from the toaster.

She had let loose too much yesterday. Over the weekend, she found herself having too much fun talking with the handsome actor. He was definitely someone that she could talk to though. Their exchanges were natural and charming, not to mention she began to look at mundane things with a new perspective. The clouds were no longer just clouds, but constantly changing wanderers of the sky. The way people moved was different, the way they carried themselves all held a story within each step. The way she looked at herself even… her perspective was evolving.

She sighed. Though she definitely felt a connection… though she felt the swell of affection in her chest… Mona knew it was wrong. He deserved better than her. His career would be at stake because of her. She would definitely bring him sadness, not happiness.

And after her last relationship, she knew the pain of receiving sadness often.

Mona shook her head and tore into her breakfast. Even though she was feeling something more towards Zen, she knew that she couldn't pursue such feelings. But it wasn't to say that a friendship with the handsome actor was illegal. She closed her eyes and rubbed them with a tight fist.

Friends… That would be the limit to their relationship. That _had_ to be the limit to their relationship. If one day Zen were to come up to her and tell her that he had found someone special, she would smile and congratulate him. Since they were just _friends_.

The curly-haired moved her fist away from her eyes and stared at her almost empty plate.

"Friends, huh…"

She glanced at the clock and sighed again. She scooped the last of her food into her mouth and then grabbed her plate, taking it to the sink. She began to tidy up the kitchen, washing the dishes and clearing the table. She walked back to her room and pulled out her outfit and a towel. With a small spring in her step, she headed to the bathroom and showered. After, she finished cleaning herself up and dressed into her clothes. She put on minimal amounts of makeup daily because she was usually late. But today she winged her eyeliner, fixed her brows and put on a dark lip color. She looked at herself in the mirror and lightly pulled at the ends of her hair.

"Mm… I should've put some blush…"

She twitched at her comment and sighed. Despite her already saying that they were just _friends_ , why did she suddenly want to dress up herself? Sure, she could lie and say that it was because it was the first day of rehearsals and that she wanted to look good… It was a plausible lie. But she knew that deep down, the urge to look cute in front of the handsome actor was high.

"Whatever…"

She pulled out a single sheet of makeup remover and rubbed her eyes and lips, removing the eyeliner and dark lipstick. She opted for chapstick and put away her makeup. She gave herself another look and sighed, grabbing her backpack and walking out of her room.

She walked to the front of the apartment and sat down at the entry way. She slipped into her shoes and turned around, scanning the area. It had only been two weeks since the incident, but Mona missed the sound of someone bidding her goodbye.

She shook her head and walked out of the apartment, locking up. She checked her watch and noticed that it was around 7:40AM. Their rehearsal was at 9AM which gave her some time to review anything that was needed. Besides, today was just an introductory rehearsal. They would be introducing the production team to the cast and crew. Then the stage and musical directors would make a few opening statements, and then finally everyone would sit down to do a complete read through of the entire script.

She saw the bus rolling to a stop at the stop ahead and Mona broke into a quick run. She hopped onto the bus and sat herself down next to the window. The young director propped her elbow against the edge of the window and rested her head against her open hand. She stared outside as the scenery passed her slowly.

* * *

Mona hopped off the bus and began walking towards the campus. It was already 8:15AM. She had texted Sunwoo if the secretary was there already. The other woman replied that she was grabbing coffee, asking if Mona wanted one as well. She agreed and they both decided to meet at one of the coffee shops that were outside of the campus. Mona made a beeline to the café, dodging the groups of students that were making their way to the campus. As soon as she walked up to the café door, a few girls ran past her towards the university, their faces bright pink.

"Oh my god, I can't believe we actually saw him at the station!"

"I wish we weren't running late, I would've asked for an autograph…"

"Yeah, yeah… Gosh, he's so handsome…"

"I can't believe THE actor Zen is here though!"

At the sound of Zen's name, Mona yanked the door open and threw herself into the café. She blushed a little, embarrassed that she had reacted like that. At the front, she spotted Sunwoo thanking the cashier.

"Unni," Mona called out.

Sunwoo turned and waved for the younger to come up.

"You ready for today," the secretary asked.

"Kind of. The team that Pyramid set up will be doing most of the work anyway. I'm just there to observe. I don't do much till we actually start working."

Sunwoo ohed and then smiled suspiciously. Mona flinched at her smile, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

"So…"

"Don't you start."

Sunwoo giggled and turned around at the sound of the barista calling out for her. Mona followed the older woman, taking her own order.

"How much was mine? I'll pay you back," Mona started, pulling out her wallet from her backpack.

Sunwoo waved," Don't worry about it. Instead!"

The curly haired was roughly pulled to the side and was sat down at a table next to the café window.

"Did you guys talk?"

"Unni, oh my gosh…"

Sunwoo smiled wider. She definitely could tell that the two had talked over the weekend. Judging by how pink the younger classmate had gotten and the way she was avoiding Sunwoo's gaze, the older knew that they had probably talked _a lot_.

"You should've put some make-up, Mona!"

"Gah, unni… No way. I'm not here to impress anyone!"

"Tsk, tsk. Your nose is growing Pinocchio!"

Mona sighed and sipped her hot macchiato. Under her breathe, she murmured," I drew my eyeliner wing really well today and wore a nice dark lipstick but I took it all off…"

"Haa? Why did you do that? Aigoo, this child… why do you always do that?"

"It's embarrassing, unni… I felt like I was trying too hard to impress people…"

"Ahhh, this child! Listen, even though I asked if you were trying to impress someone earlier, in the end, you should do that stuff to impress yourself! Who cares about other people's opinions. You rock your dark lip and you cut a man with your eyeliner because you _want_ to!"

Mona chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of her neck," Thanks unni. Next time maybe."

"You better. I want to see you dressed up more often, tsk."

Sunwoo took a sip of her own coffee and then asked," So you and Zen talked all weekend huh…"

Mona made a noise and coughed into her drink. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and sputtered," H-how did you…?"

"Haha, don't worry. I won't say anything to anyone."

Mona flushed pink again and was about to take another sip of her drink when the front door of the café banged open. A younger guy stumbled in, his face red and eyes wide.

"E-echo Girl! She's walking down this street to the campus!"

Sunwoo frowned and turned around, looking out the window. Sure enough, a large crowd was forming in the nearby distance. The café began to empty out quickly as people rushed to see the famous idol.

"Huh, that silver hair," Sunwoo muttered. She squinted and then widened her eyes in realization. She turned around and reached over the table, hitting her friend lightly on the arm," Ya! Zen is over there too!"

Mona looked up and looked into the crowd. Indeed, Zen stood a head above almost everyone there. He seemed to glow in the cold October sun. She watched as he happily interacted with the people around him—fans Mona supposed. He seemed to belong in the crowd, his presence shining amongst the attention.

" _He's definitely different from me,"_ Mona thought, almost sad at the sight. It was another thing that separated the two: Zen stood in the center of the stage, while Mona stood on the sides in the shadows. She didn't belong in the limelight, nor did she ever want to. Zen stood naturally in the front, too far for Mona to reach.

As the crowd shifted back and forth, the stand-in director could see Echo Girl right next to him, holding his arm tightly to her chest.

Suddenly there was a tight feeling in her chest. Mona put her coffee down and clutched her heart. She knew what this feeling was—she wasn't stupid. She was jealous and she didn't like seeing Echo Girl all over Zen. She _knew_ that, but she also knew that Mona and Zen's relationship could never be more than friends. She had let herself get too greedy. Texting Zen all weekend, answering his call… She was becoming a greedy woman. But it hurt more that the woman clinging to Zen's arm was none other than Echo Girl. Mona really wasn't a fan of the idol, especially with her hunch that Echo Girl had pulled some strings to put the idol and Zen together in the production. But the aura between Echo Girl and Zen looked so natural, their looks complimenting each other.

Sunwoo watched her friend. Mona slid her hand down and took her coffee into both her hands, staring at the object. Mona closed her eyes, her eyebrows knit close together with frustration. It was obvious that Mona was attracted to Zen. It was fun to tease her about her feelings, but even Sunwoo knew exactly why Mona was reacting the way she was right now. She knew the limits between the two as well. Though she completely supported and understood Mona's feelings (after all, Zen was _too_ handsome), she could tell that Mona was getting frustrated with herself. For Sunwoo, she noticed that Mona needed control in her life. The curly-haired told her that this trait of hers was a result of her weight loss—control over herself and her life. So when Mona found that she couldn't suppress her feelings for Zen, Sunwoo speculated, she felt threatened by her sudden weakness.

The secretary glanced back out and saw that the crowd was already passing by slowly. Suddenly, her eyes met with bright red ones. Sunwoo blinked and saw that Zen was looking straight into the café. She slowly nodded awkwardly, saying hello through that simple gesture. She watched the actor nod slightly, a smile on his lips. Slowly, his eyes moved along and finally rested on Mona's slouched figure.

Curiously, Sunwoo noticed that his eyes seemed to open up with excitement. His face seemed to brighten instantly and he smiled widely. Sunwoo blinked and watched as the actor seemed to be apologizing to the people around him, especially to the clingy woman at his hip. His arm slipped out of her tight embrace. He began to walked forward, coming closer to the café window. At first, Sunwoo thought he was going to simply stop in front of the window and get Mona's attention, but the man walked straight up to the door. Gently, he pulled it open and walked up to the pair of ladies. Behind him, Echo Girl quickly followed suit.

Sunwoo noticed immediately how well dressed the idol was. Plus, she was wearing a full face of makeup… It was obvious that Echo Girl was trying her hardest to get Zen's attention. But Sunwoo knew that the reason why he was walking straight up to them was because of the girl in front of her. And she knew that Echo Girl was realizing the same thing. The idol's face twisted with resentment towards Mona.

Zen stopped in front of their table and leaned over, looking at Mona's face. Her eyes were still tightly closed and her brows still furrowed. Sunwoo continued to observe the area, noticing the women in the area—especially Echo Girl—not understanding why he was leaning up close to such a plain woman. Sunwoo could feel herself smirk, proud of her friend for unknowingly beating everyone in the room. Sunwoo watched as Zen smiled softly at the concentrated woman. He raised his hand and gently pressed his index finger in the space between her eyebrows.

Mona's eyes snapped open and she moved her head back, confused at what was happening. Suddenly she locked eyes with Zen and felt her face suddenly burning. Zen laughed handsomely, straightening himself up.

"What were you thinking so hard about that made your pretty face all twisted like that, Miss Baek," Zen chuckled smoothly.

Sunwoo couldn't help but enjoy her friend's reaction. She looked like a goldfish, her eyes wide open and her mouth opening and closing.

"W-what are you doing here, Zen," the curly-haired stammered.

"Well, same reason as you obviously."

Mona laughed nervously, slowly becoming aware of the people watching her and Zen interacting. She clarified quickly," Did you come in to get some coffee? This café has some great drinks. You should get the…"

"Oh no. I saw you in the window and wanted to surprise you," Zen cut her off easily, his bluntness shocking everyone. It especially shocked Echo Girl and Mona herself.

"Oh, uhm… well, you really did surprise me so… yay?"

Zen laughed and everyone in the room swore that there were roses in the air.

Sunwoo glanced to her right and watched Echo Girl shifting uncomfortably. It was obvious that the girl didn't like the mood between the two.

Zen stopped his laughing and then asked with a smile," So Mona, you're coming to the first rehearsal right?"

"Of course. Even if it's just introductions and stuff, I need to be there…"

"Then why don't we walk together! I think it'd be fu—"

"Ooh! Is that you Miss Baek?"

Sunwoo frowned deeply as the brown-haired idol stepped between the two. She smiled cutely.

"I didn't notice that you were sitting there! You were so _quiet_ ," Echo Girl laughed. "You really shouldn't _slouch_ like that either! You'll ruin your posture. Oh and that frown! You mustn't look like that; your face might _stay_ that way!"

Sunwoo felt herself growing mad. Who was this girl, acting all high and mighty? Just because she was an idol and Pyramid's CEO… How dare this little girl try to put Mona down so harshly in front of so many people? In fact, how dare she even talk to Mona like that? Sunwoo began to stand up and was ready to call out Echo Girl when Mona's laugh rang through the café.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I was thinking about something," Mona replied, a smile suddenly adorning her face. She stood up and put her hand out towards the idol. Echo Girl slowly took the hand and shook it, wary of the girl suddenly. Zen looked quietly between the two.

"You know, though… I actually didn't notice you either," Mona began. She let go of Echo Girl's hand and slipped on her backpack and took her drink into her hand.

"I think it was because I couldn't see your face past your _huge_ chest that I didn't see you," Mona laughed. Sunwoo nearly choked on her spit and watched the normally-docile Mona smiling from ear-to-ear. The curly-haired continued on, this time addressing Zen face-to-face," Jokes _aside,_ I actually have to go ahead and fix some things at the office, so I'm afraid I can't stay here any longer. Feel free to follow if you want, but there's still plenty of time for you to hang around."

She turned to Sunwoo and nodded, the smile still intact. The secretary paused and then rushed to gather her things. She stood up and bowed to Zen and Echo Girl. The older began to make her way out first, Mona following slowly behind her.

The girl stopped though and turned and looked at Echo Girl's bright red face. Her smile instantly disappeared and Mona quickly added," Don't be late."

Mona glanced up at Zen and smiled again. She bowed her head and then walked out the café, the door gently closing behind her. Zen watched her figure disappear and scratched the back of his neck.

" _Did something happen between Mona and Echo Girl_ ," he wondered mentally. He made a mental note not to bother Mona unless he wanted to be embarrassed. Zen looked around and nervously smiled.

"How dare she say something like that! I can't believe her... I can easily get her off this project if I wanted to," Echo Girl hissed. She turned to Zen and clung onto his arm again. "Can you believe her? She's so rude!"

Zen felt his mouth twitch downwards but he kept his smile in place. Instead, he gently pulled off her arms from his own. He answered," She's been under a lot of stress I imagine. Don't hold it against her, okay? Besides, what you said to her before was quite rude as well."

Echo Girl instantly turned red and began to stammer. Zen smiled and began to walk away. He began to slid past the crowd, walking towards the door. He apologized to everyone around him. The atmosphere was weird and he wanted to leave. Plus, he wanted to catch up to Mona and talk to her right now.

"I'll get going first. Be careful on your way everyone," he called back, exiting the building.

Much of the crowd slowly filtered out the door, some girls still following Zen however. There were a few fans still surrounding Echo Girl, assuring her that Baek Mona was nothing compared to the idol.

" _If she's nothing, why did Zen look at her that way? Why did he choose to go to her and not me?"_

She clenched her fist and stamped her foot angrily.

" _That Baek Mona!"_

* * *

" _I'm in such deep shit,_ " Mona panicked. Why did she do that? Why did she let herself say that? Especially to the daughter of the CEO who was sponsoring her uncle's production? She wanted to tear her hair out, turn around and run back into the café to apologize. She wanted to throw herself down onto the ground and let the insufferable idol step on her. Mona groaned and put her free hand against her eyes. Sunwoo laughed and lightly punched her arm.

"To think, that the controlled Mona could snap that way!"

"Unni, kill me…"

Sunwoo continued to laugh, throwing her arm around her friend's shoulder. The secretary couldn't help but laugh and feel proud of the younger. Mona was seriously losing her mind, but Sunwoo liked it. Mona often let people talk down on her. The curly-haired wouldn't let it get her down, but she was an easy prey to bully. She let people do whatever they wanted. If they gossiped about her, Mona would shrug it off. If they were rude to her, she would overlook it.

But lately, Sunwoo noticed that Mona was losing that edge of control that she usually had. It was probably because of all the events that had recently happened. Though there were some obvious bad things about this situation, Sunwoo was happy that Mona was finally standing up for herself.

Behind them, Sunwoo heard rushed steps coming towards them. She turned and saw that Zen was running up to them, a handsome smile on his face. Sunwoo mentally shrieked.

" _Oh my god, he's actually here! Does it mean what I think it means?"_

"Miss Sunwoo! Mona!"

Mona flinched at the sound of her name and instantly turned pink. That voice, she knew who it was. Sunwoo yanked her back to a stop and Mona could hear Zen catching up to them.

"Oh hello Mr. Zen," Sunwoo purred.

"Feel free to address me casually," Zen laughed, catching his breathe a little.

"Then feel free to call me Sunwoo as well. What brings you here though? I thought you were going to stay at the café with everyone?"

Zen scratched the back of his neck and chuckled nervously," I just bumped into Echo Girl on the way. Then the crowd came along with her and I was in the middle of it all."

Zen looked expectantly at the back of Mona's head. Sunwoo also looked at her friend but almost burst out laughing at her expression. Mona's face reminded her of a ripe cherry tomato.

"How are you Mona," Zen asked gently.

Mona shifted and pulled off Sunwoo's arm off her shoulders. She took a deep breath and turned around, her face returning to her normally cool expression. She replied," I'm well. Got my caffeine and I'm ready to go, haha. You?"

Zen walked up next to Mona and the trio began to walk towards the university.

"I'm feeling great! I'm ready for everything. I even managed to memorize nearly half the script already," Zen boasted. Mona laughed a little, the tension she had earlier suddenly melting away.

"You were able to do all that in just a few days? As expected, you're amazing Zen."

"Heh, getting complimented by you so early in the day means that today will be a good one!"

"You're exaggerating," Mona chuckled.

Sunwoo slowed down a little and let herself walk behind the two. She watched curiously as the two became absorbed in their conversation, which was on nothing important. In fact, the way they talked, it seemed like they knew each other for a long time now. Sunwoo cackled under her breath and pulled out her phone. Despite being fairly close to Sunwoo, they didn't notice her taking a pic of her and Zen. The secretary had no plans to show this to anyone, but she wanted a picture to embarrass Mona with later. She slipped her phone back into her pocket and walked leisurely behind the duo, smiling softly at them. Honestly, she felt like a parent watching over her daughter on her first date—which made Sunwoo cringe a little.

"How long will this rehearsal be, do you think," Zen asked. His attention was clearly all over Mona. He watched as she brought her coffee cup up to her lips in contemplation.

"Well, the production will be on stage for sure, but before the actual performance days there will be a crew to come in and film the performance in different angles… still on stage though. The film will then be viewable on television once the performance days are over," Mona mumbled out loud. "Ah, but to actually answer your question… Since the play is around three hours, the actual meeting could take four, even five hours today…"

"So we'll be done, realistically, at around 2PM or so," Zen replied.

"Yeah, about so."

Zen felt his smile creeping higher up than it already was.

"If that's the case, let's go on the date you owe me later!"

Mona made a noise and coughed into her coffee. She twisted her body to face Zen and felt her face warming up again. Sunwoo, who heard Zen's proposal, put her hand up to her mouth. Zen was definitely into Mona from what the secretary could see. There was no doubt about it.

The way Zen looked so fondly at her when she talked or did _anything_ was one fact. The other was the way he had instantly gone up to her when he saw her. He even followed her like a puppy for god's sake.

All in all, Sunwoo concluded that Zen had a crush on the curly-haired director. Whether or not he himself knew it, that was something Sunwoo didn't know. But the facts rang loud in clear in front of her, and there was no way in hell that she would let her friend miss such an opportunity, despite the consequences their blooming relationship could have.

"Yeah, why don't you guys go," Sunwoo jumped in between them. Her smile widened after seeing Mona's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"U-u-unni! You can't just…" Mona stammered, trying to find the right words to throw at her upperclassman.

"Oh nonsense. You were able to completely clean up the office, if there's a meeting between you and the production team, those will never last more than an hour! Plenty of time to go hangout before dinner, no?"

"I—well, there's… You! Unni! You know I—"

"Hush," Sunwoo snapped. She turned to Zen and patted his shoulder, smiling brightly. "Since we don't want any rumors going on about you two, you guys should go to this _amazing_ restaurant over in the Gangnam district! Mona _loves_ that place."

"UNNI!"

"Here, give me your number Zenny. I'll text you the address and _everything_ ," Sunwoo volunteered. Zen easily surrendered his number to Sunwoo, the two of them somehow quickly becoming friends in front of Mona's eyes.

"Well! Since all of that is settled! Both of you have got to tell me what happens on your date," Sunwoo giggled.

Mona made a shrieking noise and began to take off, her face bright red. Sunwoo laughed and followed her underclassman, waving for Zen to hurry along. The actor stared at the retreating back of the curly-haired woman and smiled.

"Today is definitely a good day."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Welcome back and thank you for finishing chapter 3! A lot happened, but it's still? Sort of the beginning? Wowee, the end is still far lol

Anyway, feel free to review, favorite or whatever you feel comfy with and please come back for chapter 4~


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